Zulu king treated for suspected poisoning following adviser’s sudden death

South Africa’s King Misuzulu Zulu believes he was being poisoned after the sudden death of one of his close advisers on Saturday, the Zulu PM said

The royal spokesman said the king was ‘in perfect health’ and criticised an ‘orchestrated agenda’ to circulate ‘baseless claims of His Majesty’s ill health’

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Zulu monarch Misuzulu Zulu in 2021. A spokesman for the king said on Sunday the monarch has undergone medical tests following the sudden death of a close adviser, amid suspicions the adviser was poisoned. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:03am, 3 Jul 2023Updated: 4:22am, 3 Jul 2023

South Africa’s Zulu king, head of the country’s most influential traditional monarchy, has undergone “thorough” medical examinations following the sudden death of a close adviser, a spokesman said on Sunday, amid suspicions he was poisoned.

The king, who was visiting neighbouring Eswatini, “underwent precautionary and thorough medical exams in a context of Covid and after the sudden death of his close adviser,” Douglas Xaba, explained spokesman Prince Africa Zulu, contacted by telephone by Agence France-Presse.

Misuzulu Zulu, 48, 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.

Zulu king Misuzulu Zulu, centre, holds a spear as he sings with Zulu regiments during his coronation near Durban, South Africa in August. Photo: AFP

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.