Buthelezi remains in hospital due to complications
King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has been sidelined in visiting his Prime Minister Prince Mangothusu Buthelezi in his hospital bed
Two weeks on and Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi remains in intensive care following complications from a procedure to relieve back pain.
Despite fears for his ill health, Prince Mangosuthu is however said to be showing signs of improvement.
In July, the Prince went in for a procedure to relieve persistent back pain that he had endured for a long time. He was later discharged, but the backpain did not subside and the IFP founder was readmitted.
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KING BARRED FROM VISITING BUTHELEZI
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According to Eyewitness News, even ill health could not ease the tensions between the Traditional Prime Minister and AmaZulu’s King Misuzulu kaZwelithini.
The monarch and his spokesperson Prince Afrika Zulu, are barred from paying the 95 year old a visit.
However, Buthelezi’s spokesperson Liezl van der Merwe, did not confirm nor deny the allegations.
“No consideration was given to the order of importance of potential visitors. The priority was, and will always be, the welfare of the patient,” says van der Merwe.
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TENSIONS IN THE ROYAL HOUSE STILL PERSIST
The rift between them came about the appointment of the new chairperson of the Ingonyama Trust Board.
Buthelezi wanted someone with a legal background to Chair the board, such as Judge Jerome Ngwenya, whom the King replaced with Chief Thanduyise Mzimela.
The Trust holds and administers over three million hectares of land in KwaZulu-Natal.
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In meeting with Amakhosi in Empangeni in May, Buthelezi said that the King is making it hard for him to serve.
“I fear that we may have reached a point where I must explain to the nation why I am compelled to step aside as Prime Minister. It is not my wish to step away from my King, but if the King refuses to hear my plea for the Ingonyama Trust, I cannot continue to serve”, Buthelezi said at the time.