Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has issued a call to arms to the traditional Zulu regiments, the amabutho, as he warns that something perilous is in the works. Speaking at the uMkhosi weLembe, the annual commemoration of King Shaka, at King Zwelithini Stadium in Umlazi last week, he said that he suspected that the government might be about to withdraw his official protection.

“Regiments and headmen,” he said, “please arm yourselves because there is something that is creeping up on me.”

He went on to say that if his protection was withdrawn – it is currently handled by the Presidential Protection Services (PPS) – he felt no need to deal with the police, since he had his own regiments.

“Please prepare to come and protect me because there is a dog that is threatening to withdraw its security. Take your security. A king was always protected by his regiments.”

The crowd responded with enthusiastic chants of “Bayete!” (Hail!)

The comments come against a background of longstanding concerns about the security of the Zulu monarch. In 2023, the PPS was deployed to protect Misuzulu after concerns about threats to his safety and a reported breakdown in trust between the king and some members of his ordinary royal protection unit. This was intended as a temporary measure, and unnamed sources have claimed that the only envisioned change is to return security duties to the designated royal detail.

The security issue is not the only recent source of tension involving the king and traditional institutions. Misuzulu has also been involved in a dispute with the Ingonyama Trust Board, particularly over an investment conference that the board plans to hold in Durban. He has questioned the board’s authority to organise the event without his approval and has threatened to use his amabutho to prevent it.

The king told the Umlazi gathering: “I say every man must have his stick in his hand and get ready. There are meetings that are being organised here in eThekwini without us. This must stop and I will organise hostel dwellers to go and block this meeting.” 

Misuzulu’s comments highlight an enduring tension between traditional and constitutional authority. His call for the amabutho to protect him also invokes the traditional role of Zulu regiments as defenders of the monarchy, pointedly at odds with the responsibilities of the South African state. His comments about the holding of conferences and economic promotion in areas the king considers his domain is an even more aggressive signal of dissatisfaction and defiance.

These tensions have their roots in South Africa’s transition to democracy. The African National Congress had initially assumed that traditional leadership could be relegated to a cultural role (something like a European constitutional monarchy) but came first to a realisation of the influence that it retained, and then to the political utility of having traditional leaders in its camp. A proper resolution of the issue has never been achieved.

The issue is reflected also in various ways across the country in the uncomfortable relationship between traditional authorities and municipal structures; there has been a long-running grievance on the part of traditional leaders that their powers and authority have been usurped by municipalities, while they, in turn, hold that traditional leaders have on such matters as land allocation created significant difficulties for municipalities to carry out their responsibilities.

The Zulu monarchy wields particular influence given its prominence, the size of the Zulu population, and the kingdom’s centralised nature. Since his accession, King Misizulu has taken a more openly confrontational stance towards the government than his late father, King Goodwill Zwelithini, did.