King Misuzulu makes key appointments amid rising tensions in royal family

ZULU King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has appointed Inkosi Zuzifa Buthelezi, the son of the late Zulu nation's prime minister Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi, as the chairperson of the Zulu kingdom council a move that is being seen by many as a step closer to appointing him as the next Zulu prime minister.

- WILLEM PHUNGULA [e-mail]

Buthelezi was formally appointed alongside Prince Thulani Zulu, the new Zulu royal spokesperson, in a signing ceremony in Durban yesterday.

The crucial appointments come as royal elders prepare to meet with the king today to try to stop the escalating public rift between him and his siblings after a leaked voice recording emerged in which the king was involved in a verbal altercation with one of his sisters.

The appointments were confirmed by Prince Thulani who said he was called to come to Durban and was told on arrival that he was being brought back as the king's spokesperson.

"It was a surprise as no one had given me a hint of why the king wanted to see me," he said.