South Africa’s Zulu nation to host celebration for new king

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME
Associated Press

KWANONGOMA, South Africa (AP) — South Africa’s ethnic Zulu nation will on Saturday host a coronation event for its new traditional king amid internal divisions that have threatened to tear the royal family apart. King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini, a son of the late King Goodwill Zwelithini who died from a diabetes-related illness in March last year, will undergo the traditional ritual known as ukungena esibayeni (entering the royal village) to mark his installation as the new leader of the Zulu nation. The Zulu ethnic group is South Africa’s largest with more than 12 million people who are mainly located in the coastal province of KwaZulu-Natal. The Zulu nation waged fierce resistance to British colonialism under King Shaka Zulu from 1816 to 1828.