King Msuzulu kaZwelithini and Queen Nomzamo Myeni confirm their wedding plans, dismissing rumours that it has been canned. King Misuzulu and his third wife, queen Nomzamo Myeni have dismissed as rumours that their wedding has been cancelled :Picture: Willem Phungula
In another twist, King Msuzulu kaZwelithini has denied cancelling his traditional wedding to his third wife-to-be, queen Nomzamo Myeni.
A letter with the kingdom’s official letterhead and logo purportedly signed by the king, claimed that Misuzulu had directed the director-general of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government Dr Nonhlanhla Mkhize, to withdraw Myeni’s security and other benefits as a result of him cancelling the wedding.
The letter stated the reasons as the issue being beyond the royal family’s control but it did not elaborate on these reasons.
In an exclusive telephone interview with both the king and queen on Sunday, the couple denied the authenticity of the letters, circulating in the media and on social platforms, which provide reasons for the cancellation of the wedding scheduled for next weekend.
Myeni reacted with shock to the news of cancellation of her wedding.
“What cancellation? What are you talking about? I'm with the king here and we do not know what you are talking about. The king has not informed me about that,”said Myeni, who then handed over the phone to the king.
The king burst out into laughter and said: “Engingakusho nje ukuthi ngiymthanda umkami futhi ngizomshada ngenkani ( all I can say is that I love my wife and will marry her by force).
The couple said the royal family will call an urgent meeting to discuss the origin of the letters that have been circulating.
The king laughed as he said that the couple were at Esmashobeni Royal palace, a new palace in Pongola on the north-east of KwaZulu-Natal.
The palace which is a revival of King Shaka’s palace, is where the king held the Umkhosi Woselwa ceremony on Thursday, where Zulu warriors performed a ritual of strangling a bull to death by hand.
“If people want to believe lies that is their problem.Go tell those who want to go with the truth that I love my wife and will marry her by force. I wish I could make a video call to you so that you could see that we are together,” said the king.
Meanwhile, the lawyers representing the king’s wife, queen Ntokozo Mayisela who is challenging the wedding, said there has not been official communication and they will proceed as planned and go to court on Monday to interdict the wedding.
With both the king and Myeni confirming the continuation of the wedding, there will be intense focus on Monday’s court proceedings.
The king is a member of the Nazareth Baptist Church and the wedding ceremony is scheduled for next Sunday in keeping with the observance of Saturday as a day of Sabbath.
Willem.phungula@inl.co.za