Princess Sihle tipped to be 'mother of the nation'

King Misuzulu kaZwelithini's new bride-to-be, Sihle Mdluli from Mpumalanga, sealed her fate as “mother of the nation' this week when she took centre stage at official royal events. 

The young woman is in her early 20s and hails from Mawewe traditional authority in Mbombela where her mother Khulile Mkhatshwa is an inkhosi, attended an imbizo on Friday called by the king at Mashobeni royal palace in Nongoma.

Dressed in traditional regalia, the princess, who is staying at one of the king's palaces, was diplomatic in the face of controversy surrounding her future husband. 

The monarch — who called the imbizo with amabutho (warriors) and amakhosi (rulers) to discuss issues with the Ingonyama Trust board and attempts to liquidate Ithala bank — is in the midst of divorcing his first wife, Queen Ntokozo Mayisela from Newcastle. He also recently postponed his wedding to another queen-to-be, Nomzamo Myeni from Jozini.

A source from Hlanzeni who works closely with Amakhosi in Mpumalanga confirmed inkhosi Mkhatshwa inherited ubukhosi (royal title) from her late father. “Princess Sihle is from the Mkhatshwa royal family under kwaMawewe traditional council in Mbombela and her mother is inkhosi,” she said.

This puts Mdluli in line to be “mother of the nation” upon her marriage to the king as any child they have would become heir to the throne. 

Prof Musa Xulu, a cultural expert from Indonsa Yesizwe Think Tank, said the heir to the throne — the king's successor — must come from royal blood between the mother and father.

“To become the heir, [the child] must have royal blood,” he said.

A royal source said the families are in lobola negotiations, and as Mdluli hails from a royal family, her lobola will be paid by the nation, as is customary. This means the lobola — cows and money — will be paid by about 300 Zulu tribal authorities.

The lobola of King Misuzulu's mother, Queen Mantfombi Dlamini from Eswatini, was paid by the nation.

Efforts by the Sunday Times to question maidens accompanying Mdluli were threatened with being removed from the imbizo

The late IFP leader Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who was also a traditional prime minister, led the delegation which was negotiating lobola talks on behalf of the late king Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu.

Though the matter is now in the public domain, the royal family wishes to keep the matter private.

Efforts by the Sunday Times to question maidens accompanying Mdluli were threatened with being removed from the imbizo.

The king's representative in the KwaZulu-Natal House of Traditional Leadership and Khoisan leader Prince Sylope Gumbela Zulu said he encouraged people to respect the king's privacy.

“Though we understand that the king is a public figure, people must also understand he deserves some privacy,” he said.

Zulu said there are things in the royal family that need to be kept a secret until they are officially pronounced in public.

The king postponed his wedding to Myeni last month, citing reasons of being in seclusion. It came as Queen Ntokozo opposed his divorce proceedings — on the grounds of being irreparable — and tried unsuccessfully in the Pietermaritzburg high court in January to stop him from marrying Myeni. Her lawyer Melusi Xulu said the papers were still being filed.

The king also has another wife, Queen Nozizwe laMakhubu from Eswatini, for whom he paid lobola. She lives alone in Eswatini.

At Friday's imbizo, the king said those who wanted to close the embattled Ithala Bank were attacking the monarchy and would be defeated. “I know there is a political party behind the attack on Ithala Bank and they need to know they will not succeed,” he said.

Last month the Repayment Administrator (RA), acting under the auspices of the Prudential Authority (PA) of the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb), filed papers in the Pietermaritzburg high court for the financial entity’s provisional liquidation.

The PA — responsible for the prudential regulation of banks and insurance companies within the South African Reserve Bank — said it believed this action was in the best interests of the about 257,000 depositors in Ithala, as the appointed liquidator will be able to use insolvency legislation to recover and distribute their funds to the extent that it is possible. 

The move has sparked frenzied opposition from the KwaZulu-Natal government and the royal household.

The king said those behind an attack on the Zulu throne were working with Prince Mbonisi Zulu, who had challenged his legitimacy as Zulu monarch. 

He also said he will defend the Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB) from those who want to use the organisation for self-enrichment. He said he did not recognise the current board members because he had suspended them. “The board is an illegitimate structure and they need to know that their days in office are numbered,” he said.