Buthelezi ready to vacate his position if Zulu King doesn’t heed his plea to protect Ingonyama Trust. Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the Zulu monarch’s traditional prime minister, has stated that he is prepared to resign if Misuzulu kaZwelithini does not safeguard the territory held by the Ingonyama Trust.
Buthelezi ready to vacate his position if Zulu King doesn’t heed his plea to protect Ingonyama
At an imbizo with Amakhosi yesterday in Empangeni, Buthelezi made this statement. Buthelezi summoned the imbizo to inform amakhosi of recent developments regarding the Ingonyama trust. Numerous chiefs from all around the province and mayors from the Inkatha Freedom Party in KZN attended the imbizo.
Just a few days prior, it had been revealed that Misuzulu and Buthelezi were at odds. Because they had chosen their supporters to the board, Buthelezi claimed in his address that the ANC and those close to Misuzulu intended to seize the Ingonyama Trust.
“I am bewildered by the prospect of Ingonyama Trust land being made vulnerable by our King. I find it very difficult to continue serving under these circumstances. I am determined to abandon my King and my commitment to serve his Majesty with the same dedication and self-sacrifice with which I served his late father and his grandfather,” he said adding,” His Majesty is making it impossible for me to continue to serve. I fear that we have reached a point where I have to explain to the nation why I am compelled to step aside as the Prime Minister. It is not my wish to step away from the king, but if the king refuses to hear my plea for the Ingonyama Trust, I cannot continue to serve,” he said.
Buthelezi added that he was concerned that the Zulu people and the amakhosi who oversee the Ingonyama Trust’s property would accuse him of deserting them.
“I will be accused of abandoning His Majesty as well as his position which is most vulnerable and will be challenged in court next week. The people who want the King to be defenestrated because they are claiming his throne are in court,” he said.
Jacob Mnisi, a business man, and Inkosi Thanduyise Mzimela, a close ally of Misuzulu, were also accused by Buthelezi as having given the King bad advice. On May 31 and June 1, Misuzulu is anticipated to square off with his brother Prince Simakade in court regarding his reign.
