Zulu King Misuzulu KaZwelithini has turned to his former traditional prime minister and tasked him with organising the upcoming imbizo to deliberate on the Ingonyama Trust and the pending liquidation of Ithala Bank.  The Zulu King requested Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi to organise the gathering, usually called during periods of crises faced by the Zulu nation, via a letter seen by African Times. The Ingonyama Trust administers vast hectares of land in parts of KwaZulu-Natal collectively owned by the Zulu people.…

King Misuzulu KaZwelithini has left everyone in the Zulu kingdom and beyond guessing about his next move after he did not use the all-important commemoration of the battle of Isandlwana in Nquthu in northern KwaZulu-Natal to fill key positions. The King also steered away from speaking about his highly publicised and pending divorce. He also said nothing to clear the confusion on whether he would still marry Queen Nomzamo Myeni of Jozini as his third wife or not. However, many…

The troubled Dannhauser Local Municipality in northern KwaZulu-Natal is in hot water after it appointed a less qualified official to act in the vacant position of municipal manager. The ANC-CFP-EFF coalition led municipality plucked Lungelo Gcabashe from her position as the director for technical services to hold the fort pending legal battles with suspended municipal manager, Mandla Sithole.  The appointment had to be approved by the province’s MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi. In a…

Amid a messy divorce storm engulfing the Zulu Monarchy, King Misuzulu KaZwelithini has announced a date to marry his third wife, Queen Nomzamo Myeni of Jozini in northern KwaZulu-Natal.  The King, currently embroiled in a Pietermaritzburg High Court battle to divorce one of his wives, would be officially marrying Myeni (to conclude the marriage as they are already married and living together) towards the end of this month this year. This would happen shortly after he had presided over the…

The troubled Nongoma Local Municipality in northern KwaZulu-Natal has finally appointed Mpumelelo Bongani Mnguni as the acting municipal manager, averting a salary payment disaster that would have seen about 260 employees going to Christmas unpaid. Mnguni’s appointment was ratified during a special council sitting called after employees were not paid on Friday because there was no municipal manager authorised to make salary payments. The appointment is a major climb down by the council after it initially defied a court order…

About 260 desperate employees of the cash-strapped Nongoma Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal started their festive season on a sad note after their December salaries were not paid on time. The struggling municipality also failed to pay its legion of councillors. Both the employees and the councillors were supposed to get their salaries on Friday, 20 December, but were left high and dry. The delay forced the council to hold a special sitting and later the workforce was told that their…

Prince Mbonisi Zulu, the nemesis of King Misuzulu Ka Zwelithini who was last week fired by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), is not taking the matter lying down. The senior Zulu prince, a half brother to the late King Goodwill Zwelithini, has unleashed his lawyers on the department to challenge the sacking. In a letter obtained by the African Times, addressed to the department led by MEC Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi, Prince Mbonisi’s lawyers denied that…

The chairperson of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in KwaZulu-Natal, Thami Ntuli, has downplayed the reported tensions between the MEC for CoGTA, Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi and the ANC in the government of provincial unity (GPU) and in the province. Ntuli, who is also the premier in the GPU, says it was always expected that there would be differences since they come from different political parties. The provincial IFP leader was responding to a question from the African Times during a…

The MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) in KwaZulu-Natal has finally intervened to stop the ongoing instability at Dannhauser, a local municipality in the north of the province run by a coalition of the ANC, EFF and the Community Freedom Party. Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi has since deployed Madoda Khathide, the deputy director general for the local government to go to the municipality and convene a special council sitting that will look into the vote of no confidence against…

A senior manager in the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) has obtained a protection order against the spokesperson of the MK Party in the Uthukela region, Mncedisi Makuyi, an employee of the department. Mzwandile Hadebe first obtained an interim order from the Pietermaritzburg magistrate court on November 20, 2024. He later obtained a final one early this week. Radebe accused Makuyi of harassing and threatening him because he claims he got him fired from his plum…