In what is believed to be an effort to forge unity within the royal family, King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has appointed a prince from the ‘estranged house’ of Mandlakazi to be his representative in the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Department.
Prince Nkosinathi Zulu has been officially appointed to replace Prince Simphiwe Zulu who was fired by the king for the dereliction of duty.
The princes and princesses of Mandlakazi house are regarded as illegitimate because of they are the descendants of Prince Sojiyisa, who was believed to be an illegitimate child.
Zulu historians say when King Jama married a woman from Thonga tribe in the north-east of KwaZulu-Natal, she was already pregnant from her previous relationship. The woman gave birth to Sojiyisa, who as the first born son of King Jama was an heir to the throne.
Seeing that the throne would go to the ‘illegitimate child’, King Jama’s sister, Mkabayi headhunted Mthaniya Sibiya to marry the king. Mthaniya gave birth to King Senzangakhona and Mkabayi ensured that he, not Sojiyisa, became the king of Zulus.
Prince Nkosinathi is a direct descendant of Sojiyisa.
Confirming his appointment, Prince Nkosinathi dismissed as myth that he was a descendant of the illegitimate son of the Zulu royal family. He said his appointment was proof by King Misuzulu that they were legitimate sons and daughters of the royal family.
“I hear people talking about things that they do not know. It’s a myth that my forefather, Prince Sojiyisa, was an illegitimate child. If that was the case, I do not think the king would have given me such a position of trust. I think by appointing to this senior position, the king wanted to end that myth,” said Prince Nkosinathi.
A senior prince, who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed his unhappiness over the appointment of a person who is a descendant of Sojiyisa, whom he said was known as an illegitimate child in the Zulu history; hence he was prevented from ascending the throne.
What also made Mandlakazi house to be disregarded by the royal family was Prince Zibhebhu’s action, who fought alongside the British army when burning down King Cetshwayo’s Ulundi palace in July 1879. Zibhebhu was a son of Maphitha and a grandson of Sojiyisa.
The 65-year-old Prince Nkosinathi said he grew up under the late King Zwelithini at Kwakhangelanamankengane royal palace together with King Misuzulu since 1983.
He said he was mentored by the late king until he got married. He is a nurse by profession and currently works as an assistant director in the forensic section of the Department of Health in the province.
He is serving a month’s notice and will officially resume his new duties as the king’s eyes and ears at the end of the month. He was due for retirement from the department in October.