Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu

Goodwill Zwelithini (2011)

Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu (born July 14, 1948 in Nongoma ) is king of the Zulu according to the South African constitution .

The role of the king is largely ceremonial ; he does not officially exercise any political power. His court in Nongoma is paid for from the KwaZulu-Natal province budget .

Life

Zwelithini was appointed king in 1968 after the death of his father Cyprian Bhekuzulu kaSolomon , but only after his 21st birthday as the eighth king in a traditional ceremony in December 1971 in Nongoma in the presence of 20,000 Zulu. Prince Israel Mcwayizeni KaSolomon was the regent until his enthronement . During this time Zwelithini took refuge in St. Helena for fear of attacks .

In 1994 the king broke with Mangosuthu Buthelezi , a relative and leader of the Zulu Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), who had mostly been prime minister of the province since he came to the throne and remained in power there until 2003. In the run-up, there had been riots between supporters of Buthelezis and Zwelithini at the annual commemorative event in honor of Shaka . During a visit by Nelson Mandela , IFP party comrades stormed the royal residence, whereupon the king and security forces left the palace and was flown to Johannesburg . Despite his constitutionally purely ceremonial role, the King of Mandela was also repeatedly treated as a political spokesman for the Zulu in order to circumvent the IFP and Buthelezi. Mandela's daughter Zenani Mandela is the wife of Prince Thumbumuzi Dlamini, a brother of Zwelithini's third wife, Mantfombi Dlamini.

Zwelithini visits overseas to promote tourism in the province and to raise funds for Zulu charities. Zwelithini is also chairman of the board of the Ingonyama Trust , a foundation established under the apartheid government , which owns a total of 29.67% of the KwaZulu-Natal province's land area of ​​28,000 square kilometers. The eight remaining board members of the Trust are appointed by the South African Minister of Agriculture in coordination with the King, the Provincial Prime Minister and the Chairman of the Provincial House of Traditional Leaders (representing traditional rulers).

In 2007, Zwelithini was criticized for asking for a new Mercedes-Benz S 600 worth one million rand after he had bought his wives six Mercedes-Benz E-Classes worth two million rand in December 2006 . In 2012 he demanded 18 million rand from the provincial parliament for the renovation and expansion of his palaces.

In the 2010s, he was noticed several times for his speeches. In January 2012, he described same-sex relationships, which are expressly placed under state protection by the South African constitution, as "spoiled", which President Jacob Zuma rejected. In 2015 he called for all foreigners to leave the country; the statement is believed to have triggered xenophobic riots in Durban . In the same year he praised the apartheid system, which had been economically more successful than the governments since the introduction of democracy in 1994. He was proud to be born in the year of the first election victory of the National Party .

Zwelithini has six wives and numerous children.

Web links

• Brief portrait of the king on South African History Online
• Literature by and about Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu in the bibliographic database WorldCat

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Zulu King Breaks Ties To Buthelezi in New York Times, September 21, 1994, accessed November 13, 2011.
2. ↑ Taxpayers may have to fork out R1m as King Zwelithini eyes luxury car  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in City Press on 10 March 2007 called on 13 November 2011th  
3. ↑ Zulu king wants R18m for more palaces News24
4. ↑ Canaan Mdletse: Gay Slur uproar . In: The Times , January 24, 2012. 
5. ↑ Zulu king praises apartheid regime. Lesotho Times, December 9, 2015, accessed July 31, 2016