King Misuzulu and his half-brother, Prince Simakade, in their younger days.
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AmaZulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini’s half-brother, Prince Simakade, has expressed difficulty in responding to calls for unity, citing a lack of access to justice from the Constitutional Court.
In light of increasing pressure to accept the Constitutional Court ruling that affirmed Misuzulu as the legitimate AmaZulu monarch, Simakade stated that any peace talks must be contingent upon truth and equal access to justice.
Speaking through his spokesperson, Prince Thokozani Zulu, on Monday night, Simakade reacted to Misuzulu's earlier call during a media briefing on the same day. He expressed confusion regarding the judgment, noting that he has yet to receive it.
Simakade seeks clarity on the justices' reasoning for dismissing his application for leave to appeal without providing him the opportunity to make representations.
“Ingonyama Simakade was denied access to justice. We were expecting that we would at least be allowed to make representations, but it never happened. We have not been given the judgment except for the order that was circulated on social media. This is a political judgment,” lamented Zulu.
On the same day, Misuzulu reiterated his commitment to persuading his half-brother, Prince Simakade, to return home and pursue peace, despite Simakade's rejection of the ruling that confirmed him as the legitimate AmaZulu king.
On Friday, the Apex Court dismissed Simakade’s application for leave to appeal the Supreme Court of Appeal’s (SCA) affirmation of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recognition of Misuzulu as the king of the Zulu nation. The court concluded that Simakade had no reasonable prospects of successfully appealing the SCA’s ruling from October 2025.
In their judgment, Deputy Chief Justice Dunstan Mlambo and his seven colleagues stated that the court found no reasonable prospects of success regarding the merits of the application for leave to appeal.
The chairperson of the royal council, Inkosi Zuzifa Buthelezi, remarked that the ruling vindicated his father, the late Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who consistently maintained that Misuzulu was the rightful heir to the throne.
“Buthelezi stated that his father tolerated all the insults to ensure that the rightful king was installed. He was accused of interfering in royal family matters; some said he was not a family member, and the meeting he chaired was not a Zulu royal family meeting.”