King Misuzulu and his third wife-to-be, queen Nomzamo Myeni are still together despite talks that the king had withdrawn all her spousal benefits including security. The pair was at the Battle of Isandlwana commemoration on Wednesday. Picture: Supplied
The provincial government of KwaZulu-Natal has called for an investigation into the origin of the letter with the instruction to withdraw the benefits of King Misuzulu’s third wife-to-be, queen Nomzamo Myeni.
The letter, instructing provincial director-general Dr Nonhlanhla Mkhize to withdraw the queen’s benefits bore the Zulu kingdom’s letterhead, logo as well as what looked like the king’s signature. It started circulating on social media platforms on Saturday and sparked a debate since it also called off the traditional wedding ceremony, which was scheduled to take place this weekend.
Although it had a deadline of 11 am on Sunday (19 Jan) of which the benefits would have been withdrawn, to date, Mkhize has not acted on the instructions as Myeni still enjoys all her benefits. Many people who attended the battle of Isandlwana commemoration event in Nquthu north of the province on Wednesday said the queen appeared to be still enjoying her full benefits including security.
Clarifying the matter on Thursday, Mkhize said the provincial government had not acted on the instructions because the letter did not reach her office.
“We did not receive the letter except hearing about it from the media so we could not act on the letter that was not sent to the media, not to us. This must be investigated so that the origin of the letter can be determined,” said Mkhize.
The authenticity of the letter was denied by both the king and queen on Sunday who laughed off its contents which suggested that their relationship had ended. The pair were together at the new palace, Emashobeni near Pongola in the north-east of the province.
In that exclusive telephone conversation, the king vowed to marry Myeni by ’force’.
However, the wedding is said to be no longer taking place this weekend as scheduled. Those close to the king said he was advised to let the divorce go first and then marry her.
The king is currently running his kingdom without a spokesperson and the traditional prime minister after he dismissed Prince Simphiwe Zulu and Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi respectively, so, the media is unable to get comments from the royal family.
Willem.phungula@inl.co.za