A South African court on Tuesday declared that President Cyril Ramaphosa's decision last year to recognize Misuzulu kaZwelithini as the king of the country's 15 million-strong Zulu nation was unlawful.  

The ruling potentially sets off a new, lengthy succession battle.

The court has ordered South Africa's government to launch an investigation into objections raised by some members of the Zulu royal family with regard to the rightful heir to the throne.

What's behind the succession battle?

Last October, Misuzulu ascended the throne once held by his late father — Goodwill Zwelithini.

His formal appointment came after a year of bitter feuding over the royal succession.

King Goodwill Zwelithini died in March 2021 after more than 50 years on the throne.

He left six wives and at least 28 children but designated his third wife as regent in his will.

The queen, however, died suddenly a month after Zwelithini, leaving a will naming Misuzulu as the next king.

The development did not go down well with other family members.

Another faction, which includes some of his late father's other wives and some of his siblings from the other palaces, recognized King Zwelithini's first-born son Prince Simakade as king.

Why did the court criticize Ramaphosa?

Ramaphosa last year officially recognized Misuzulu Zulu as king at a colorful ceremony in the coastal city of Durban.

The formalities included Ramaphosa handing over a giant framed certificate in front of tens of thousands of people — mostly Zulus dressed in their traditional attire and carrying shields and clubs.

The judge has now criticized Ramaphosa for ignoring other family members' complaints.

According to South African law, the president was supposed to launch an investigation as soon as he was aware of objections against the recognition of the new king.

"It is declared that the recognition by the first respondent of the second respondent as Isilo of the Zulu nation was unlawful and invalid and the recognition decision is hereby set aside," reads the judgment.

The judge noted that his ruling was not meant to determine whether the king was the rightful heir, but whether the correct processes had been followed.

Ramaphonsa now has to set up a committee to investigate the disputes regarding the matter.

What's the role of the Zulu king?

The Zulu monarch does not have formal executive power but is hugely influential as a custodian of the ethnic group's traditional customs and land.

The king controls vast swaths of land, estimated at about 3 million hectares or about 30% of the land in KwaZulu-Natal province, under an entity called the Ingonyama Trust.

The monarch also receives an annual budget of more than $4 million (€3.7 million) from the provincial government for the upkeep of the royal households and cultural activities.

Zulu kings are descendants of King Shaka, the 19th-century leader still revered for having united a large swath of the country as the Zulu nation, which fought bloody battles against the British colonizers.

sri/lo (AP, AFP)