Zulu royal family showdown: Court’s ruling ends Simakade’s legal battle

King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has invited his detractors, with the Zulu royal family, to unite following the Constitutional Court’s ruling against his brother, Prince Simakade. Prince Simakade Zulu has expressed his disappointment with the Constitutional Court, which on Friday rejected his application for leave to appeal the Supreme Court of Appeal’s (SCA) affirmation of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recognition ofKing Misuzuluas king of the Zulu nation. The Apex court found that Simakade has no prospect of successfully appealing against the SCA’s October 2025 ruling.

A faction of the Zulu royal family recognises Simakade as the rightful heir to the throne after the death of his father, King Goodwill Zwelithini, onMarch 12, 2021. A faction of the Zulu royal family recognises Simakade as the rightful heir to the throne after the death of his father, King Goodwill Zwelithini, on The Constitutional Court ruling was thefinalisation of the legal battlethat Simakade started by approaching the PretoriaHigh Court to seek to nullify Ramaphosa’s decision to issue a letter of Misuzulu’s recognition. The Constitutional Court ruling was thefinalisation of the legal battlethat Simakade started by approaching the Pretoria High Court to seek to nullify Ramaphosa’s decision to issue a letter of Misuzulu’s recognition.

In the court judgment, Deputy Chief JusticeDunstan Mlamboand his seven colleagues said the court had concluded that there were no reasonable prospects of success on the merits of the application for leave to appeal. and his seven colleagues said the court had concluded that there were no reasonable prospects of success on the merits of the application for leave to appeal. “Consequently, condonation must be granted, but leave to appeal must be refused with costs for lack of reasonable prospects of success,” read the court judgment.