Zulu monarch fails to halt ‘urgent’ fees payment case
Lawyers representing AmaZulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini said a court application brought by his uncle, Prince Mbonisi, was not urgent and should be struck off the roll, reports News24.
However, KZN High Court (Pietermaritzburg) Judge John Olsen ordered that the matter continue.
The case, which relates to payments by the Ingonyama Trust for the personal needs of the AmaZulu king, kicked off yesterday.
In the application against his nephew, Mbonisi alleged that a decision by the previous board of the Ingonyama Trust to pay the legal fees of King Misuzulu, in the battle over the AmaZulu throne, was unlawful.
Similarly, Mbonisi argued that a decision by the current board to continue covering the legal costs of the AmaZulu king's fight to remain on the throne was unlawful.
The half-brother of the late King Goodwill Zwelithini singled out the costs of law firm Strauss Daly, which was reportedly owed over R20m by the AmaZulu king as of March 2023.
Mbonisi cited a December 2023 court ruling by Judge Norman Davis in the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria), which declared that President Cyril Ramaphosa's recognition of Misuzulu was unlawful.
He claimed that Misuzulu was not entitled to anything related to the Ingonyama Trust, pending the finalisation of the succession battle.
However, yesterday, Advocate Johnny Klopper averred that the decision by the Ingonyama Trust Board to pay the legal costs of the king's battles was not unlawful.
Klopper said the AmaZulu king was duly recognised by his family as the monarch and, therefore, had a right to benefit from the Ingonyama Trust as its sole trustee, according to News24.
He said the ruling by Davis, which the AmaZulu king was appealing, had found the administrative element of the king's recognition as unlawful.
He said Davis had noted that the matter of who should be the AmaZulu king had already been dealt with by Judge Isaac Madondo in the KZN High Court (Pietermaritzburg).
Klopper argued that Mbonisi's application should not be accepted on an urgent basis.
He said the previous board decided some time ago to pay for Misuzulu's legal costs, and the matter did not warrant 'jumping the queue’.
After a marathon exchange between the legal representatives of Mbonisi and Misuzulu, Olsen ruled that the matter should be heard on an urgent basis.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
