Citation of Constitutional Laws Act, 2005

This judgment is not about who should be king of the AmaZulu. The applicants didn’t ask the court to determine that issue. The applicants brought two review applications and the court was required to determine those. The first was whether the incumbent king, King Misuzulu Ka Zwelithini Zulu has been appointed as king in terms of Zulu custom and the second was whether the President had correctly recognised the present king in terms of the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act 3 of 2019 (the Leadership Act). In respect of the first question Madondo AJP had already pronounced in related litigation in the Kwazulu-Natal Division, Pietermaritzburg on 2 March 2022 that King Misizulu is the rightful heir to the throne. Even if that decision is being attacked, this court cannot sit as a court of appeal and that decision is regarded as res iudicata (something which has already been decided). Regarding the second question, it was found that the President has not lawfully recognised the King as the President has not followed the peremptory procedure provided for in section 8 of the Leadership Act. The recognition of King Misizulu by the President and the publication of that recognition in the Government Gazette is therefore reviewed and set aside and the President is directed to take the necessary steps to have an investigative committee appointed as contemplated in section 8(4) of the Leadership Act