South Africa's Zulu queen fails to stop the monarch's third marriage

The first wife of South Africa's Zulu king, Missuzulu kaZwelithini, has failed in her legal bid to stop his plans to take a third wife.

Queen Ntokozo kaMayisela went to court ahead of what was expected to be the wedding later this week.

But despite the decision, it is not clear whether the wedding will still take place as planned.

On Saturday, South African media quoted a letter from the king as saying the ceremony was canceled “due to reasons beyond the control of the royal household”.

Polygamous marriages are recognized in South Africa, but only if they are registered as customary marriages.

This latest controversy comes amid a series of scandals that have engulfed King Misuzulu since coming to power just over two years ago.

The Zulu king has no formal political power and the monarch's role in wider South African society is largely ceremonial, but he remains extremely influential with an annual government-funded budget of several million dollars.

Before ascending the throne, the king married Mayisela in 2021. in a civil marriage.

In her legal argument, heard at the High Court on Monday, the Queen, through her lawyer, said the King could not marry anyone else as their marriage was still valid.

Under South African law, a civil marriage must either be dissolved or converted to a traditional union before a man can take more wives.

It is unclear why the marriage contract was not an issue when the king took a second wife, Queen Nozizwe Mulela-Zulu, in 2022. But according to South Africa's weekly newspaper Sunday World, citing a letter the queen wrote to elders in the Zulu royal house, the couple agreed to convert their marriage from civil to traditional.

The duo, given the option of either divorcing and remarrying or applying for a conversion from their legal team, apparently chose to do the latter, but King Misuzulu “decided to change his mind” for unknown reasons, the Queen said.

Dismissing Monday's application to stop the king's marriage to Nomzamo Myeni, Justice Bongani Mngadi said that since the queen had already agreed to the idea of ​​her husband being able to marry other women, she could not prevent the ceremony from taking place .

Despite the reported letter, as well as the king's lawyer in court saying the wedding will not take place, conflicting statements have also emerged.

South African news site TimesLIVE reports that the bride-to-be said she knew nothing about the letter and as far as she understood, her wedding would go ahead as originally planned.

According to another news site, IOL, which reportedly spoke to the couple, the king insisted he loved Mieni and would “marry her by force”.

After his coronation in October 2022. there was controversy surrounding some of the decisions King Misuzulu made.

In December, he illegally suspended the board of the Ingonyama Trust, which owns and controls vast tracts of communal land in KwaZulu-Natal, which is supposed to be for the benefit and welfare of the king-led communities in the region.

King Misuzulu is the sole trustee and chairman of the trust, but has no power to hire or fire board members.

He also recently quickly fired two close aides, including his traditional prime minister, in quick succession — moves that raised eyebrows among royal watchers.

Misuzulu's position as king has also been questioned by some and there is currently a court case challenging his recognition as monarch by the state.

He ascended the throne earlier than expected after his father, King Goodwill Zwelitini, died during the Covid pandemic in March 2021. from diabetes-related complications.

Zwelitini was the longest-reigning monarch of the Zulu nation, serving on the throne for almost 50 years.