By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has granted Queen Sibongile Dlamini-Zulu leave to appeal a decision by the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg which dismissed her claim that her late husband’s will was forged.
In March, the High Court dismissed Dlamini-Zulu’s bid to contest the will of the late King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu. She demanded 50% of his estate. Her daughters, Princesses Ntandoyenkosi Zulu and Ntombizosuthu Zulu-Duma, wanted the court to declare that their father’s will had been forged.
Deputy Judge President Justice Mjabuliseni Isaac Madondo dismissed her application to have 50% of the late Zulu king’s estate set aside for her.
Dlamini-Zulu is seeking to have Zwelithini’s marriages to his five other wives be declared invalid and for the remaining royal assets to be split among the five other wives.
In his ruling, Madondo said the queen had failed to clearly outline that she wanted to invalidate the other marriages of the late king.
In her litigation, Dlamini-Zulu is also arguing that as she was the first wife married to the king in a legal union, she is automatically entitled to half of his estate.
The queen and her daughters also lodged another application, alleging that Zwelithini’s will is fake.
The will nominated his third wife, the late Mantfombi Dlamini Zulu, as the regent. Mantfombi then nominated her son, MisuZulu kaZwelithini, as the successor to the throne.
The SCA granted her leave to appeal the decision on Friday.
MisuZulu is expected to be crowned the new AmaZulu king in a traditional ceremony on Saturday. It is unclear if Dlamini-Zulu and her daughters will apply for an interdict to halt the ceremony.
As the succession battle continues to divide the royal family, Misuzulu’s preparation ahead of the sacred ritual of entering the kraal is underway.
This ceremony is performed in line with Zulu custom in order for the king to fulfil the necessary rituals in celebration of his installation as king of the Zulu nation.
On Thursday night, as part of the process, King Masuzulu hunted and killed a lion. He will wear the lion’s skin when he enters the kraal on Saturday.
Legal expert, Mpumelelo Zikalala, says the SCA ruling granting Dlamini-Zulu the right to appeal the Judge Madondo ruling on King Goodwill Zwelithini’s estate has no bearing on King Misuzulu’s ritual on Saturday and his coronation later next month.