Prince Muntukaphiwana’s murder a blow to the Zulu nation

THE Zulu royal family has suffered another blow with the killing of Prince Muntukaphiwana.

A close confidant of the king, he was assassinated on Thursday afternoon outside his home in Nongoma in northern Kwazulu-natal.

His murder came less than two months after the killing of Dr Dumisani Khumalo, who was a member of the Zulu royal council.

Khumalo was gunned down in

September after attending a reed dance ceremony at the Nyokeni Palace in Nongoma.

Khumalo was a confidant of the late King Goodwill Zwelithini and helped the current king, Misuzulu kazwelithini, ascend the throne ahead of his rival, Prince Simakade.

Prince Muntukaphiwana was among the senior members who guided King Misuzulu in his contentious ascension to the throne.

He was also a long-serving member of the IFP.

He was an MP for the party before he returned to his home town, where he was an IFP PR councillor and a member of the executive committee of the Zululand District Municipality.

He led the king’s delegation to various high-profile gatherings, including international trips.

Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the traditional prime minister of the Zulu nation, said the prince’s killing showed the extreme levels of violence that plagued the country.

Buthelezi, the IFP president emeritus, described Muntukaphiwana as a great servant of the people.

“This is a devastating loss to the Zulu nation and South Africa. It reminds us yet again of the extreme levels of violence that plague our country. We pray for God’s intervention, and for swift action by the South African Police Service in investigating this murder and making arrests.

“As the traditional prime minister to the Zulu monarch and nation, and as a relative of Prince MMM Zulu, I am deeply pained by this loss,” he said.

KZN Premier Nomusa Dube-ncube said the death of Prince Muntukaphiwana marked a string of tragic losses of life as he was the third member of the royals from the Osuthu Traditional Council to be killed.