South Africa’s Zulu king has scandalised his more conservative subjects and set off a months-long royal soap opera, after taking the unprecedented step to openly divorce his first wife.
King Misuzulu kaZwelithini earlier this year overturned generations of Zulu royal tradition and family discretion to publicly file for a split from the mother of his children.
While Zulu kings have traditionally practised polygamy, with no limit to the number of wives they might have, divorce did not take place – and if it did, it was kept out of the public eye – making the king’s recent announcement such a bombshell.
In the months following his decision, the king’s difficulties juggling different wives and fiancées have been thrust into the spotlight of social media, both fascinating and dismaying his subjects.
Queen Ntokozo kaMayisela has not taken her dismissal lightly, going to court to stop her husband holding another wedding in late January.
Looking for clues
Royal watchers have since eagerly tried to decode the significance of royal appearances and utterances, looking for clues as to which of the king’s partners might be in his favour.
Cultural experts say the furore has highlighted the evolving position of indigenous marriage laws and the growing tensions between customary and civil unions as times change.
While the king has no legislative power, he acts as the custodian of traditions and customs for 12 million Zulus, with many looking up to him as a moral authority.
The royal household also receives a hefty annual subsidy of more than £3 million from the provincial government for upkeep and cultural activities.
Community left ‘stunned’
Anthony Diala, a scholar of African customary law, said that the 50-year-old king, having grown up in neighbouring Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and studied in America, was seen as a monarch for a new generation.
He said: “As a significant cultural authority, it is understandable why his family are in the headlines about a divorce.”
According to Professor Gugu Mazibuko, a cultural expert at the University of Johannesburg, the announcement left the community stunned.
She said: “When the news came, it came as a shock. There was outcry, because according to Zulu practices in the olden times, you were not supposed to divorce your wife.
“If the wife misbehaved, or did something unacceptable, you were supposed to build a hut at the edge of the homestead. The reason was not to isolate them but to ensure she was always taken care of.”
Divorce may have become increasingly common among ordinary Zulus, but the king’s role as a cultural leader left many shocked.
Irretrievable breakdown in the marriage
The king met Queen Ntokozo in 2009 at his sister Princess Bukhosibemvelo’s wedding. They had been together since then and had two children, but only officially married in 2021 as he prepared to ascend the throne. They chose a modern marriage over a traditional wedding, and she sat beside him at his state coronation in October 2022.
However, papers filed for the king at the start of the year cited an irretrievable breakdown in the marriage, claiming the pair had not lived together as man and wife for more than a year.
The divorce papers were quickly followed by palace invitations for the king’s traditional wedding to a new bride, Nomzamo Myeni.
Queen Ntokozo went to court to stop the wedding, which was postponed as a result. She argued that the king would be committing bigamy since they remained married under civil law.
While the judge threw out her case, the marriage to Ms Myeni remains on hold and the king has reportedly sent her family a cow as a gesture of appeasement.
In 2022, the king also married Nozizwe kaMulela, a prominent banker in Eswatini, though they are seldom seen together, fuelling speculation about whether the marriage was completed and whether they are still in a relationship.
The king’s marriages are not the only difficulties he has faced during his short reign.
Another faction of the family has challenged his right to the throne in a bruising succession battle, and he has clashed with the government over his stewardship of a financially lucrative land trust.
In the latest twist to his tangled marital life, the king formally acknowledged Queen Ntokozo last weekend when she attended a traditional festival.
His actions were seen by many as potentially showing she was back in favour.
Prof Mazibuko said: “She attended and he introduced her as his wife.
“Social media was buzzing.”
She added: “We expected that the journey [of the king’s reign] would not be smooth in the beginning, maybe now it will become much better.”
“The king will always have enemies anyway.”
