By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Prince Simakade Zulu, the eldest son of the late Zulu monarch, King Goodwill Zwelithini, is expected to perform the ceremony of entering the kraal at the Enyokeni Palace in Nongoma on Saturday.
This signifies the traditional coronation of a king and it will take place midnight.
The police came in 13 vehicles, mainly kombis and SUVs and the vehicles were marked KZN POP (KwaZulu-Natal public order police).
The ritual by Prince Simakade has drawn rebuke and ridicule in equal measure as his opponents claimed that the throne is already rightfully occupied by his half-brother, King Misuzulu kaZwelithini.
On Wednesday, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, in his capacity as the traditional prime minister of the Zulu monarch, called the counter-ritual by Prince Simakade and his backers a “foolish provocation” that should be stopped by the SAPS.
The entering of the kraal ritual is the last rite for a King to undertake before he is publicly coronated. King Misuzulu will perform his ritual next weekend at KwaKhangelamankengane palace, also in Nongoma.
From there he would proceed to be coronated on a date yet to be known and the coronation will take place at the Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban despite attempts to wrestle the throne from him.
In March this year President Cyril Ramaphosa legally recognised Prince Misuzulu ka Zwelithini as the king-elect of the Zulu people, after the death last year of long-reigning King Goodwill Zwelithini ka Bhekuzulu.