Cape Town – A white woman from Gauteng has received some warm responses from social media users after she said that she hoped that Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini would take her as a wife.
The unidentified woman attended the coronation of the new king on Saturday.
Misuzulu, 47, ascended to the throne once held by his late father, Goodwill Zwelithini, during traditional ceremonies that were partially overshadowed by a bitter succession dispute.
The coronation took place in the kraal built by his regiments KwaKhangelamankengane Royal Palace in Nongoma.
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Although the title of king does not bestow executive power, the monarchs wield great moral influence over more than 11 million Zulus, who make up nearly a fifth of South Africa’s population.
Men and women in colourful traditional outfits assembled outside the marble palace on the hills of Nongoma — a small town in the southeastern province of KwaZulu-Natal, the Zulu heartland — to honour the new monarch.
“I heard the king is going to come here today, so I wondered maybe he’s looking for a wife. I don’t know if he’s going to watch this, then he must just know I am here, I want to be the first white queen of South Africa, the first white Zulu queen,” the woman told eNCA.
Your first white Zulu wife ?#eNCA #InkosiEsibayeni #Nongoma Siphamandla Goge #VukaAfrica pic.twitter.com/cB4kte54k2
— Vuka_Africa (@Thisthat_Acadmy) August 20, 2022
Social media users reacted warmly to her.
Take a look at some of the responses:
You’ll be surprized how these white queens love our culture and all
— Señor Max (@SiyaMax) August 20, 2022
That’s why I like whites they don’t beat around the bush they go straight to the point pic.twitter.com/oF3VGkKwrS
— Zinyana Lembuzy (@ZZinyana) August 20, 2022
Zulu kings are descendants of King Shaka, the 19th-century leader still revered for having united a large swathe of the country as the Zulu nation, which fought bloody battles against the British colonisers.
The new monarch’s first name means “strengthening the Zulus” but his path to the crown has not been smooth.
King Zwelithini who died in March last year after 50 years in charge, left six wives and at least 28 children.
Misuzulu is the first son of Zwelithini’s third wife, who he designated as regent in his will.
But the queen died suddenly a month later, leaving a will naming Misuzulu as the next king – a development that did not go down well with other branches of the family.
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Picture: Getty Images
Compiled by Betha Madhomu
Additional reporting by AFP
