- DA KZN leader Sithembiso Ngema said he is worried about the King’s safety, since MKP once backed a rival claim to the Zulu throne.
- MKP has rejected the claim as “cheap politics,” saying it never involved itself in the royal succession dispute.
The appointment of Inkosi Phathisizwe Chiliza as the new Traditional Prime Minister of the Zulu Nation has sparked a row between the DA and MKP in KwaZulu-Natal, after the DA said the move raises concerns for King Misuzulu kaZwelithini’s safety.
DA KZN leader Sithembiso Ngema said on Wednesday that MKP had, in its early years, backed Prince Simakade kaZwelithini’s rival claim to the Zulu throne, and that some in the party characterised King Misuzulu as controlled by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“As the DA, we are not rejecting King Misuzulu kaZwelithini’s prerogative to appoint or remove his Prime Minister, but we are worried about his safety, because he has now appointed the leader of the MKP in the KZN Legislature to run such a critical position in the Zulu Kingdom. We are talking about someone who comes from a political party that never recognised him as King,” Ngema said.
Prince Simakade, King Zwelithini’s firstborn son, challenged Misuzulu’s recognition through the courts for several years. The Pretoria High Court ruled in Simakade’s favour in 2023, but the Supreme Court of Appeal reversed that decision in October 2025, and the Constitutional Court dismissed his final appeal in February this year.
Scrolla.Africa previously reported that senior MKP leaders, including party president Jacob Zuma, attended a ceremony honouring Prince Simakade and members of the royal family opposed to King Misuzulu, and that MKP figures such as Amajuba leader Mqondisi Dladla became prominent supporters of Simakade’s claim.
The row escalated on Tuesday, after news broke that Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi had been removed as Traditional Prime Minister. During the KZN Premier’s budget vote in Pietermaritzburg, MKP members reportedly stood up to mock Buthelezi in the chamber, offering him sarcastic condolences over his dismissal after overseeing the rollout of vehicles to traditional leaders. MKP later issued a statement congratulating its caucus leader, Chiliza, on being appointed to the position.
MKP spokesperson Mkhuseli Mlengana rejected the DA’s claims as “frivolous.”
“The problem with the DA is to think that black people have no capacity to think. The MKP never supported any faction in the royal family, because the issue of ubukhosi has its own family and royal processes that have nothing to do with political parties. We respect King Misuzulu kaZwelithini as the recognised King of the Zulu nation, without any political interference,” Mlengana said.
Chiliza could not be reached for comment, but has previously accused the DA of playing “cheap politics” on matters concerning him.
King Misuzulu’s spokesperson, Inkosi Mpikayise Buthelezi, also could not be reached for comment.
Pictured above: DA KZN leader Sithembiso Ngema, who has raised concerns over the appointment of MKP’s Inkosi Phathisizwe Chiliza as the new Traditional Prime Minister of the Zulu Monarch.
Image source: KZNDA
