ANC's Motion Regarding Saluting AmaZulu King Will Trigger 'Unnecessary Social Unrest'

• The African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal has proposed that the guard of honour given to the Zulu king be scrapped
• The ANC said the salute is not constitutional as only select dignitaries, including the president, can be ushered in with a guard of honour
• The Zulu king has often been welcomed with a guard of honour and given an address at the opening of the legislature
• The AmaZulu royal family have rubbished the proposal, citing it aims to erode age-old tradition

The AmaZulu King should not be given a guard of honour at the official opening of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Legislature.

This was the crux of the African National Congress (ANC)'s recently tabled proposal regarding the monarchy.

According to SABC News, the provincial government has indefinitely ceased its sponsorship of cultural events hosted by AmaZulu King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini until the royal family's well-documented succession dispute is put to bed.

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The governing party believes the salute is not constitutional as only select dignitaries, including the president, ministers, and the premier, can be ushered in with a salute.

However, the king, who's neither a politician nor a public office bearer, should not be afforded the same courtesy.

A portion of the Zulu royal family criticised the ANC's motion and expressed unhappiness over the party's position.

Prince Vincent Zulu, a senior member of the royal household, says the motion shows disrespect to the AmaZulu nation. Zulu said the motion is unacceptable and could spark unrest.

“The Zulu royal family has taken note of proposals tabled by the ANC regarding the king. The premier of the province [Sihle Zikalala] has refuted that they seek to withdraw the tradition of saluting the majesty when he visits the Legislature," said Zulu.

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He added that the ruling party seeks to erode the work done by the king to address the opening of the legislature. He said the proposals were disconcerting and should be reconsidered to avoid unrest.

"We wish to caution the premier to withdraw public expression, and this will be deemed insulting the Zulu nation and will trigger unnecessary social unrest," said Zulu.

South Africans made their thoughts known around the proposal on social media, and the reactions were colourful.

Briefly News went down the comments to bring readers all the interesting commentary.

@MrInquisitive9 wrote:

"Why should they get salutations while other kings don't get that? What is so special about them? They should reduce the money too. R60 million is a lot for those people."

@Ominotom said:

"It's totally unacceptable, why should certain individuals think that they have the right to take from others things that they dearly hold."

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@bigkoostar added:

"We should do away with monarchies. They are an elitist club with elitist interests."

@KaSaytshen_Zulu offered:

"Let them do as they please we will meet on the 1st of November."

Mzansi gives Zulu King Misuzulu advice after alleged poisoning

In recent related news, Briefly News reported that King Misuzulu has made a full recovery following a suspected to be poisoning.

This new revelation comes after Zulu nation Prime Minister, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi previously shut down claims that the King had been poisoned.

Buthelezi even went on to say that entertaining the idea that King Misuzulu was of ill health would be irresponsible, according to a report by The Witness.

While the Zulu King's health may have improved, he continues to battle within the monarchy in the face of growing factionalism.

Maxwell Shamase, Acting Deputy Dean & Senior Lecturer at the University of Zululand, explained that factionalism within the Zulu monarchy keeps growing.

He said South Africa has a constitutional monarchy, which means anyone within the monarchy could be appointed to take the throne.

Source: Briefly News