Zulu royal family showdown: court's ruling ends Prince Simakade's legal battle
King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has invited his detractors, with the Zulu royal family, to unite following the Constitutional Court's ruling against his brother, Prince Simakade.
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A tale of two brothers in their younger days, united by blood but later divided by ambition and beliefs about who is the rightful heir. The Constitutional Court this week put paid to Prince Simakade kaZwelithini's legal challenge to King Misuzulu kaZwelithini's throne.
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Prince Simakade kaZwelithini has expressed his disappointment with the Constitutional Court, which on Friday rejected his application for leave to appeal the Supreme Court of Appeal’s (SCA) affirmation of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recognition of King Misuzulu kaZwelithini as the king of the Zulu nation.
The Apex court found that Prince Simakade has no prospect of successfully appealing against the SCA’s October 2025 ruling.
A faction of the Zulu royal family recognises Prince Simakade as the rightful heir to the throne after the death of his father, King Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, on March 12, 2021.
The Constitutional Court ruling was the finalisation of the legal battle that Prince Simakade started by approaching the Pretoria High Court to seek to nullify Ramaphosa’s decision to issue a letter of King Misuzulu’s recognition.
In the court judgment, Deputy Chief Justice Dunstan Mlambo and his seven colleagues said the court had concluded that there were no reasonable prospects of success on the merits of the application for leave to appeal.
“Consequently, condonation must be granted, but leave to appeal must be refused with costs for lack of reasonable prospects of success,” read the court judgment.
Prince Simakade’s spokesperson, Prince Thokozani Zulu, said this meant the end of the legal battle; however, he still viewed it as politically motivated to favour King Misuzulu at all costs.
“According to the court processes, this means this matter has come to an end. However, this matter was decided on paper without the applicants, in particular, ventilating inside the court,” he said.
Prince Thokozani also expressed disappointment that Simakade and his lawyers were not formally informed about the judgment.
“We only learnt about this through social media yesterday (Friday), and when I contacted our lawyers, they were also not aware. We had expected that when the judgment was issued, it would be sent to all parties involved,” he said.
Prince Thokozani said it was difficult when they were not given a chance to read the judgment papers to understand the reasoning of the judges.
“It is even difficult to comment or accept anything when we have not read the judgment, but we note the peculiarity of how this matter has been dealt with.
“We were expecting that by March or April, they would give us the court date, and therefore it is difficult to accept when we can form a view that this is a political judgment.”
He said Prince Simakade would continue to be recognised as the real king because his appointment followed correct traditional steps, which included entering him into the kraal.
“We know all the incorrect processes that have been done all the way to this day, which includes altering King Zwelithini’s original will and replacing it with a false one,” he said.
King Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu's surviving eldest son, Prince Simakade and his supporters insist that the Zulu throne belongs to him. King Zwelithini's first-born son, Prince Lethukuthula kaZwelithini, died in 2020 under mysterious circumstances.
Image: File
He insisted that Prince Simakade’s faction would not accept Prince Misuzulu as the king.
“The court ruling never changes the truth, and, therefore, we would never worship lies because of the court judgment.
“We approached the court because we wanted justice, but if it does not have justice, it cannot make lies to be the truth,” he said.
Legal expert Mpumelelo Zikalala said the ruling meant the end of the legal case against King Misuzulu’s kingship because this came from the highest court of the land.
“Once you reach the Constitutional Court, it means you have exhausted all other avenues. It is all done.”
He said if Prince Simakade still wanted to take his young brother, King Misuzulu, to court, it should be on another matter, which is unrelated to the battle for kingship.
“Whatever your points should not be the same as this one, which had already been ventilated in court, because we are done with this matter.
“Maybe he can challenge other things, such as the will, but whatever has to do with the appointment of the king is done,” said Zikalala.
King Misuzulu's spokesperson, Prince Thulani kaGqikazi, said the SCA judgment was a warning shot, which should have warned Prince Simakade not to proceed with this matter.
“Since this decision had sealed all their legal avenues, those people should come back to be united with the king. The Zulu nation cannot be prosperous if the royal family remains divided.
“This judgment does not come as a surprise, as we have been expecting it because everyone understands that the successor of Mdlokombane (King Zwelithini) is his son, King Misuzulu,” said Prince Thulani.