South African Zulu King receiving treatment for suspected poisoning
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.’
READ MORE: South Africa’s Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini, 72, who made thousands of bare-breasted virgins dance before him in annual festival, dies after weeks in hospital for diabetes treatment
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.
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