A South African court has ruled that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s official crowning of the new Zulu king last year was “unlawful and invalid”.
The court has ordered him to set up an inquiry into whether King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini’s accession to the throne took place in line with customary laws.
King Misuzulu appeared to have won the succession battle - especially after his traditional coronation in August 2022 was followed by a state ceremony two months later when Mr Ramaphosa gave him a certificate of recognition in front of tens of thousands of people.
Under South African law, the president gives official recognition to the new king, paving the way for him to be treated like a constitutional monarch and to be funded by the government.
Prince Simakade had argued that Mr Ramaphosa’s recognition of his younger half-brother as the monarch was rushed and failed to follow proper traditional and legal procedures.
It has split public opinion in South Africa, and is likely to plunge the Zulu royal family into deeper turmoil.
The original article contains 490 words, the summary contains 172 words. Saved 65%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A South African court has ruled that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s official crowning of the new Zulu king last year was “unlawful and invalid”.
The court has ordered him to set up an inquiry into whether King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini’s accession to the throne took place in line with customary laws.
King Misuzulu appeared to have won the succession battle - especially after his traditional coronation in August 2022 was followed by a state ceremony two months later when Mr Ramaphosa gave him a certificate of recognition in front of tens of thousands of people.
Under South African law, the president gives official recognition to the new king, paving the way for him to be treated like a constitutional monarch and to be funded by the government.
Prince Simakade had argued that Mr Ramaphosa’s recognition of his younger half-brother as the monarch was rushed and failed to follow proper traditional and legal procedures.
It has split public opinion in South Africa, and is likely to plunge the Zulu royal family into deeper turmoil.
The original article contains 490 words, the summary contains 172 words. Saved 65%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!