South African Zulu King, 48, receiving treatment for suspected poisoning after being hospitalised with mystery illness... one day after the unexpected death of one of his closest advisers
- Spokesman confirmed king underwent medical exams but denies hospitalisation
- Misuzulu Zulu ascended throne last year after his father Goodwill Zwelithini died
South Africa's Zulu King has been receiving treatment for suspected poisoning after he was hospitalised with a mysterious illness - one day after one of his closest advisers died unexpectedly.
Misuzulu Zulu, 48, has undergone 'thorough' medical examinations, a spokesman confirmed yesterday but still denied reports the king had been hospitalised.
The monarch - who was visiting neighbouring Eswatini when he fell ill - 'underwent precautionary and thorough medical exams in the context of Covid and after the sudden death of his close adviser Douglas Xaba', his spokesman said.
The king ascended the throne last year after the death of his father, Goodwill Zwelithini, amid a bitter feud over the royal succession.
Overnight on Saturday, the influential Zulu prime minister, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, said in a press release that the monarch had been hospitalised in Eswatini after falling ill.
Misuzulu Zulu (pictured), 48, has undergone 'thorough' medical examinations, a spokesman confirmed yesterday but still denied reports the king had been hospitalised
The monarch - who was visiting neighbouring Eswatini when he fell ill - 'underwent precautionary and thorough medical exams in the context of Covid and after the sudden death of his close adviser Douglas Xaba', his spokesman said
The king believes he was being poisoned, after the sudden and unexpected death of one of his close advisers on Saturday, he said.
Xaba 'passed on quite suddenly and that there are suspicions that he was poisoned', added Buthelezi.
'When His Majesty began to feel unwell, he suspected that he too may have been poisoned.'
The king preferred treatment in Eswatini because 'his parents had both received treatment in South Africa and subsequently died', he said.
Several police sources in Eswatini confirmed that there was heavy security deployed at a private hospital close to the country's royal residence.
However, a royal spokesman on Sunday assured that the Zulu king, also known as Misuzulu kaZwelithini, was 'in perfect health and is not currently admitted to any hospital'.
The spokesman criticised what he said was an 'orchestrated agenda' to circulate 'baseless claims of His Majesty's ill health'.
'The king underwent precautionary and thorough medical exams in a context of Covid and after the sudden death of his close advisor.'
Although the title of king of the Zulu nation does not bestow executive power, the monarchs wield great moral influence over more than 11 million Zulus, who make up nearly a fifth of South Africa's population of 60 million people.
King Zwelithini, who died after more than 50 years in charge, left six wives and at least 28 children.
Misuzulu is the first son of Zwelithini's third wife, who he designated as regent in his will.
The queen however died suddenly a month after Zwelithini, leaving a will naming Misuzulu as the next king - a development that did not go down well with other family members.
Last September, another counsellor of the Zulu king was shot dead in mysterious circumstances on the sidelines of a traditional ceremony.
Sir Michael Caine, a two-time Oscar winner, was 31 when the movie Zulu was released in what was his first major role on screen. He played Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead, an arrogant officer who at first dismissed the Zulu army's capabilities
When newly elected, Zulu monarch Prince Misuzulu Zulu (left and right) arrived with Amabutho, Zulu regiments, to attend the provincial memorial service at the Khangelakamankegane Royal Palace in Nongoma on May 7, 2021
A dramatic breakdown of the ceremony came after members of the royal family questioned Prince Misuzulu Zulu's claim to the crown following his father's death
Prince Misuzulu Zulu, centre, flanked by fellow warriors in traditional dress at the KwaKhangelamankengane Royal Palace, during the ceremony, in Nongoma, Friday May 7, 2021
BATTLE FOR THE THRONE: The pageantry surrounding Queen Mantfombi's funeral masked a bitter war of succession being waged within the palace among King Goodwill Zwelthini's five surviving wives and at least 28 children - not just for the title but for the vast wealth and land which goes with it
Queen Mantfombi, 65, died suddenly just weeks after she was made regent when her husband King Goodwill Zwelithini died
The controversy over the next king, one with great significance for South Africa and its 12 million Zulu people, had arisen after the death in March of King Goodwill Zwelithini, who had reigned since 1968. Pictured: New King Misuzulu Zulu
More than 200 Zulu traditionally dressed people paraded through the streets in Johannesburg, to pay their last respects to Zulu Queen Mantfombi
The Queen received a gift from Zulu King Zwelithini in 1995. He presented her with a replica of a cup given to King Cetshwayo by Queen Victoria in 1882
Previous King Goodwill Zwelithini, (left, with senior Prince of the Zulus Mangosuthu Buthelezi, right, in 2019)
Zwelithini, his six wives and over 28 children enjoyed a lavish lifestyle. Pictured: Zwelithini marrying his sixth wife Zola Mafu of Swaziland in 2014
Charlene of Monaco looks on during the memorial for the late Zulu monarch, King Goodwill Zwelithini at the KwaKhethomthandayo Royal Palace in Nongoma, 2019
Zwelithini's six widows sat in the front row with their bowed heads covered in thick black lace.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke during the memorial service of King Goodwill Zwelithini
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (R) spoke with former South African President Jacob Zuma (L) during the memorial service of King Goodwill Zwelithini
Stanley Baker and Michael Caine starred in 1964 film Zulu: It is January 22, 1879. The British Army, keen to expand its territory in South Africa, has just invaded Zululand after the Zulu leader King Cetshwayo refused to accept British control. Lieutenant General Lord Chelmsford, the British commander, boasted: ‘I shall show them how hopelessly inferior they are to us in fighting power’
Twenty-thousand of King Cetshwayo’s men attacked 1,700 British soldiers camped at Isandlwana, and massacred almost all of them. Now, a huge force of warriors is heading for the tiny Rorke’s Drift encampment, and one of the most famous battles in British history is about to explode into life (Michael Caine battles a Zulu warrior)
A painting of the Royal Regiment of Wales, including Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead (centre, left arm raised) at the battle of Rorkes Drift in South Africa, against the Zulu nation
Michael Caine reloads his rifle amid a battle with the Zulu warriors in the 1964 film about the events of Rorke's Drift
When the enemy was 500 yards away, Hook and the other defenders on the southern barricade opened fire but, to Surgeon Reynolds’s alarm, Dabulamanzi’s men kept on coming ‘at the same slow, slinging trot and all in dead silence’. Finally, the next day, after the British were almost out of ammunition, reinforcements arrived.
Amabutho Zulu regiments use a spear on a falling British soldier during a reenactment of the Battle of Isandlwana
Amabutho Zulu regiments hold a British flag captured during the recreation of the Battle of Isandlwana
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
An officer gives orders to a firing line preparing to shoot salvos at incoming Amabuthu Zulu regiments
Amabutho Zulu regiments march towards the battlefield at the start of the reenactment
The war broke out when the Zulu king Cetshwayo refused to cede to demands by the British High Commissioner
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
Goodwill Zwelithini (pictured), the revered king of South Africa's Zulus, died in 2019
During his 49-year-long reign, he revived festivals where bare-breasted young women danced in front of him. Pictured: Maidens take part in the annual Reed Dance at Ludzidzini in 2011
Queen Zola Mafu of Swaziland (centre, during her wedding to the King) was selected to be the King's bride at the age of 18 while participating in the 2003 Reed Dance - where bare-breasted virgins dance
Queen Zola Mafu of Swaziland and King Zwelithini during their wedding at Ondini Sports Complex on July 26, 2014, in Ulundi, South Africa
Prince Charles met with King Zwelithini on November 4, 2011 in Ulundi, South Africa.
Swaziland King Mswati III (right) is joined by his brother-in-law Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini (left) for the celebration of his 30th birthday in 1998
King Zwelithini (left) watches members of a re-enactment group perform as Zulu warriors and British Soldiers during the 140th anniversary re-enactment of the Battle of Isandlwana
The Zulus are South Africa's largest ethnic group with over 11 million people. Pictured: African National Congress President Jacob Zuma (left) and King Zwelithini in 2008
Swaziland's King Mswati III (centre) and Zulu King Zwelithini (left) attend the annual Reed dance in Ludzidzini, Swaziland, in 2005
A descendent of the all-powerful Shaka - who ruled the Zulu nation until his assassination in 1828 - Zwelithini (pictured in 2019) revived the annual Reed Dance in 1984, where thousands of bare-breasted young women celebrate their virginity by dancing in front of the king
Zwelithini (pictured in 2018) was the most prominent among a handful of traditional rulers who hold sway over issues such as land ownership in South Africa
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