https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15523009/Zulu-king-demands-migrants-leave-South-Africa.html

Zulu king demands migrants leave South Africa

South Africa's Zulu king has sparked outrage after demanding that migrants leave the country following violent clashes near his home.

Speaking at a public event marking the British defeat at the Battle of Isandlwana, King Misuzulu kaZwelithini used a derogatory term for migrants from neighbouring African countries and said they should be forced to go.

The monarch claimed that growing numbers of South African women were having relationships with foreign men, and said that while any children born from those relationships could remain in the country, the men themselves must leave.

Although the 51-year-old holds no formal political power, his words carry significant weight among South Africa's 12 million Zulus, who view him as a custodian of tradition and a powerful moral authority. 

His remarks come weeks after police were forced to deploy water cannons and stun grenades to break up violent demonstrations at a primary school in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.

The unrest erupted after anti-immigration campaigners accused Addington Primary School of giving priority to the children of migrants over South African pupils.

Local authorities have denied this allegation and said that there was no evidence that immigration had caused a shortage of school places.

South Africa's Zulu king has sparked outrage after demanding that migrants leave the country following violent clashes near his home

Speaking at a public event marking the British defeat at the Battle of Isandlwana, King Misuzulu kaZwelithini used a derogatory term for migrants from neighbouring African countries and said they should be forced to go

While urging calm and warning supporters not to take the law into their own hands, the king repeated his demand that foreign nationals leave the country. 

Referring to the school clashes, he said: 'What happened at Addington shows that we are being compromised by our sisters. But what can we do, because their children are our nephews and nieces?'

'However, we must sit down and discuss this. Even if my nephew or niece is born of a foreign national, that foreign national must leave, while my nephew or niece should remain.'

The comments were met with cheers from the crowd, prompting the king to laugh as he spoke.

Critics were quick to point out the irony of his remarks, noting that his own mother was from Eswatini and that one of his wives also comes from the neighbouring kingdom.

Xenophobia has long plagued South Africa, with repeated outbreaks of violence against migrants over the past decade.

The king's comments echo those of his late father, Goodwill Zwelithini, who told migrants in 2015 to 'pack their belongings' and leave the country, remarks later ruled 'hurtful and harmful' by the nation's human rights body.

More than ten years on, hostility towards migrants remains a volatile political issue, fuelled by claims that foreigners are taking jobs and benefiting from public services.

South Africa's unemployment rate remains among the highest in the world, hovering at around 33 per cent.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15523009/Zulu-king-demands-migrants-leave-South-Africa.html

Amabutho Zulu regiments use a spear on a falling British soldier during a reenactment of the battle

Amabutho Zulu regiments hold a British flag during a reenactment of the Battle of Isandlwana

The reenactment is performed annually by the Amabutho and the Dundee Diehards every year

A member of the Amabutho Zulu regiments is hugged by a member of the Dundee Diehards at the end of the recreation

Members of the Dundee Diehards volunteer group prepare themselves before the reenactment of the battle

Around 20,000 Zulu warriors descended on a British garrison in South Africa's southeast KwaZulu-Natal province

The Battle of Isandlwana is one of the most notable among several particularly bloody battles during the war

A Dundee Diehards officer gives orders to a firing line preparing to shoot salvos at incoming Amabuthu Zulu regiments

A member of the Amabutho Zulu regiments clashes with British soldiers during the reenactment

Dundee Diehards fire salvos at incoming Amabuthu Zulu regiments as members of the public watch

Member of the Amabutho Zulu regiments and of the Dundee Diehards pretend to be dead at the end of the battle

Members of the Dundee Diehards rehearse the handling of a rifle before the reenactment 

Amabutho Zulu regiments march towards the battlefield at the start of the reenactment 

A war broke out when the Zulu king Cetshwayo refused to cede to demands by the British High Commissioner

A member of the Amabutho Zulu regiments is congratulated by a member of the Dundee Diehards at the end of the battle

Zulu reenactors wore ceremonial animal hides, bone necklaces and brandished spears for the recreation

Members of the Amabutho Zulu regiments parade before the reenactment of the famous battle

The famous battle, the first clash of the war more than a century ago, saw 3,000 Zulu warriors killed and an entire British force wiped out

Members of the Dundee Diehards get ready to take part in the reenactment

Historical actors and local Zulu warriors re-enacted the bloody Battle of Isandlwana where 20,000 Zulu warriors wiped out 1,300 British and colonial soldiers

The battle, which took place 140 years ago, was Victorian Britain's biggest military defeat, and was the first conflict in the Anglo-Zulu war

The event saw UK-based re-enactment actors join the Dundee Diehards and local Zulu warriors on the scene of the battle in Dundee in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Zulu troops were equipped with a shield and a stabbing spear (pictured), and attacked in 'buffalo horn' formations

The 'horns' would attack from the sides on both the left and right, before the 'chest', or main body of the army, would attack straight ahead, before the 'loins', or reserves, would follow and deliver fatal blows

The British troops, dressed in red coats, were armed with single shot Martini-Henry rifles and bayonets

Pictured: Zulu women sing during the 140th anniversary reenactment in Dundee, South Africa

Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu (pictured) was among the guests at the re-enactment in Dundee, South Africa

Despite being Victorian Britain's worst military defeat, the battle of Rorke's drift on the same day proved far more successful for British troops, and was even turned into the 1964 film Zulu, starring Michael Caine

Pictured: Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu watches the re-enactment

The Anglo-Zulu war lasted nearly six months between January and July 1879, and started when the Zulu king Cetshwayo refused to cede to demands by the British High Commissioner

After the Zulu king refused to give in to his demanded, the British High Commissioner decided to invade the Kingdom

Pictured: historical actors dressed as British troops prepare for the start of the re-enactment battle against the Zulu warriors

The Battle of Ulundi, on July 4, was the last engagement of the war, and signalled the breaking of the Zulu army

Michael Caine pictured during shot from the film 1964 film Zulu, in which he plays Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead

Painting commemorating the heroic defence of Rorke's Drift in 1879 - a victory by the British against the odds