Royal Rift Revealed: Princess Exposes How King Misuzulu Drove Prince Buthelezi to His Death
Princess Phumzile Buthelezi, the daughter of the late Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, has disclosed how the actions of Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwethini had a detrimental impact on her father’s health and ultimately led to his passing at the age of 95 at his residence in Mahlabathini, northern KwaZulu-Natal, over the weekend.
Addressing a gathering of mourners under a tent at Buthelezi’s home in KwaPhindagene on Monday, Princess Phumzile Buthelezi revealed that her father’s deteriorating health was closely linked to his strained relationship with the reigning King.
The Strain on Prince Buthelezi’s Health
She asserted that her father’s demise was essentially due to a broken heart, a condition she attributed to the perceived disrespect shown by AmaZulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini. Princess Phumzile recounted conversations with her father, in which he expressed his emotional distress and the toll it had taken on his well-being. Allegedly, he had voiced concerns about the King’s improper behaviour.
The source of their discord seemed to stem from an incident a few months prior, when the King reportedly exhibited inappropriate conduct, including table-banging and the use of offensive language during a closed-door meeting with Buthelezi.
Quoting her father’s words, the princess shared,
“My father said I want to tell you, I am emotionally sad. My father was a person who always spoke the truth and said if I can just take off my shirt you can see how thin I am because of what MisuZulu is doing to me. I can’t sleep, I can’t eat. ‘I had asked that he must go to rehab first before ascending to the throne, but his uncle advised otherwise’. And the uncle said he would be sent after ascending to the throne. So, in the main, what killed my father is what is happening in the royal family.”
She disclosed that her father had gone as far as seeking the intervention of the King’s uncle, King Mswati III of Eswatini.
How King Misuzulu Drove Prince Buthelezi to His Death
The exact cause of the heated exchange in the private meeting between Buthelezi and the King remains unclear. According to the princess, her father felt humiliated and stressed that the late King Goodwill Zwelithini had never treated him in such a disrespectful manner.
“Even the late King has never spoken the way King MisuZulu spoke to me (Prince Buthelezi). Bangs table … after that, the King would say let us burn the incense and talk to the ancestors as if nothing happened and we don’t know what’s happening. So, my father has been sick because of what is happening in the royal family,” the princess told the mourners.