A new king of the Zulu was crowned at the weekend. Thousands in South Africa went to Durban to watch the coronation of Misuzulu kaZwelithini. The city was sunny, which meant the Zulu ancestors were happy.
The coronation, held at the Moses Mabhida stadium, was a celebration of Zulu tribal dominance. While South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, who handed over the certificate recognising Misuzulu as the Zulu monarch, was booed by the audience, his predecessor, Jacob Zuma, was cheered. Ramaphosa comes from the tiny Venda tribe, on the border with Zimbabwe. Zuma is a Zulu.
Zulus don’t care much about the accusations against their former president. His opponents say he’s corrupt and used the president’s office for ‘state capture’: handing control of parts of the government to allies who robbed the treasury. To his people, the overwhelming evidence against him is irrelevant. He is one of their own, and the matter is tribal.
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