By Celani Sikhakhane
The Zulu royal family is shocked by a Gauteng teacher who claims to be the firstborn son of the late King Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, while they know him as belonging to the Nkabinde family.
This comes after Prince Malanga kaZwelithini (generally known as Malanga Nkabinde) from kwaMashu told City Press newspaper that he is the firstborn son of the late king, with Zodwa Nzimande-Nkabinde, and was born on 23 December 1966.
Nkabinde wants the KwaZulu-Natal government to give him the gazetted list of King Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu’s children in order to verify if his name is there – and he wants a share of King Zwelithini’s estate.
King Zwelithini’s brother, Prince Mbonisi kaBhekuzulu, said they know the teacher as Nkabinde.
“We are shocked about his claims because we know the guy as Nkabinde. We went to the same school with him at King Bhekuzulu High in Nongoma. He was a Nkabinde till today. Why is he coming out now with these claims? Maybe the best person to explain is his mother. Call her because she lives in KwaMashu,” said Prince Mbonisi.
He said he knows all the children of his brother King Zwelithini, even those that were born out of wedlock, but said Nkabinde is not one of them.
Scrolla.Africa has learned that Nkabinde once claimed that the late Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi wanted to kill him because of his claims after he survived a shooting incident some years back.
Buthelezi’s son Prince Zuzifa told Scrolla.Africa that they know nothing about Nkabinde and their father never mentioned anything about him.
“Why are you giving me a joke on a Sunday? My father would have informed me if there was a person who came to him and claimed to be the child of the late king. And why is this guy only coming out now?” asked Buthelezi.
Nkabinde’s son, Ndalo told Scrolla.Africa that his father talked to him about the matter and he was confused and shocked.
“He talked to me about this in 2020 and I had to go and ask his mother, who is my grandmother, in kwaMashu. Gogo denied all of these claims from my father. I called Prince Mbonisi about this and he advised that we must do a DNA test but we never did it. Since this matter is now in the public domain, I am committing myself to quickly doing it to get to the truth,” said Ndalo.
A royal family source revealed that there are now five people claiming to be the children of the late king.
One of them is a businessman in Durban whose name has not been disclosed and a woman from eMpangeni, near Richards Bay.
The source said that she came and introduced herself to King Misuzulu’s mother Queen Regent Mantfombi while King Zwelithini was still alive, and was accepted into the royal family.
This article was updated on 23 July 2024 to change the headline reference from “love child” to “first born son.”
Pictured above: Gauteng teacher Malanga Nkabinde, who claims to be King Zwelithini’s eldest son.
Image source: Supplied
