ANALYSING THE ROLE OF CHRISTIANITY IN THE CORONATION OF KING MISIZULU: THE RECOLONIZATION OF SUCCESSION TO TRADITIONAL LEADERSHIP

Abstract

KwaZulu Natal has historically remained a province that has embraced indigenous identity and remains the only province to keep a decolonial name in post-apartheid South Africa. The problem today is the disappointment of recolonising the way in which Misizulu was coronated as the new king of the Zulu nation following the death of his father, king Zwelithini. This article critically analyses the role of Christianity as part of king Misizulu’s coronation ritual. This article will further argue that reliance on the will to appoint a king is problematic because it brings a measure of legal uncertainty to the lineage of the KwaZulu Natal traditional leadership. References will also be made to judicial pronouncements where a similar fate of unsettling traditional leadership with legal uncertainty was enabled in a mission to achieve gender equality. The article will discuss the impact of such recolonization with particular reference to the limitation of the King’s option to marry more than one wife. It will be argued that courts must employ the true laws of indigenous communities and not effect distorted versions of indigenous law. Embracing African indigenous culture has been a topical issue in South Africa, sparking decolonial conversations. The article thus analyses topical issues that emerged in king Zwelithini's saga, such as the recolonization of traditional leadership, the role of Christianity, the prime minister, and wills.