Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has announced plans to lay criminal charges against the British Monarch over the burning and kidnapping of King Cetshwayo in 1879, writes Celani Sikhakhane in his Royal Mzansi column.
King Misuzulu kaZwelithini announced at the official opening of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Legislature in Ulundi that he plans to lay criminal charges against the British Monarch over the invasion and burning of the Ondini Royal Palace and the kidnapping of King Cetshwayo kaMpande in July 1879.
This came despite a letter Prince William, the Prince of Wales, sent in February 2026 to King Misuzulu, strengthening “Kingdom to Kingdom” ties. British Deputy High Commissioner Lisa Weedon formally delivered the letter, following King Misuzulu’s 2025 visits to the UK and United Arab Emirates.
Ondini was the capital of the Zulu Kingdom, a massive complex of around 1,500 round huts. British troops burned it to ashes on 4 July 1879, six months after suffering a huge defeat at the Isandlwana battlefield in Nquthu, north of KZN.
“The Zulu nation will remember that on 4 July 1879 the British troops destroyed the Ondini Royal Palace and the kings who reigned before me have never laid any criminal charges against the British Monarch over this matter. I am going to lay the charges over this,” King Misuzulu said.
King Cetshwayo was captured in August 1879. The ship to take him to London could not move until he was brought back to the ashes of his palace to report to the ancestors.
“His Majesty King Cetshwayo had to be brought back to those ashes of his palace to report to the ancestors that he was leaving for England. After that the ship was able to move and eventually he left the land of his ancestors for the very first time in his life,” King Misuzulu said.
The late King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu also called on the British royal family to compensate the Zulu nation for the damage caused during the Anglo-Zulu War. He argued reparations were needed to ease poverty in KZN.
King Zwelithini also rebuilt the Ondini Royal Palace, which is now home to his sixth wife, Queen Zola laMafu. The original Ondini site has been partly rebuilt as a museum.
King Misuzulu is now taking that call a step further.
Pictured above: King Misuzulu kaZwelithini and KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli at the opening of the House of Traditional and KhoiSan Leaders.
Image source: KZN Office of the Premier
