Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini on Thursday said he was vehemently opposed to government attempts to take control of the land held under the Ingonyama Trust and attempts to liquidate Ithala Bank. Delivering his address during the official opening of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature, the king said these two institutions were very important to him and as king they fell under his custodianship.

He said that Ithala is a Zulu nation's heritage asset and that traditional leaders have a dream of creating a new Ithala in which they will have a stake. The South African Reserve Bank's Prudential Authority (PA) has made an application to liquidate Ithala bank, a KwaZulu-Natal government-owned entity, with the PA citing in court papers that the bank’s liabilities exceed its assets, justifying its application as a measure to protect customer deposits.

Misuzulu stated that he would request a meeting with the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Thami Ntuli, in order to make a proposal regarding the manner in which traditional leaders will own a stake in the bank, which, according to Misuzulu, was established by their parents. The king further vowed to defend the embattled bank together with Premier Ntuli and President Cyril Ramaphosa "The idea to establish Ithala is still as significant today as it was when it was first established. It is our heritage. Because of this, he stated, "I will be part (of the initiative) to save this bank, which was established by our parents, in conjunction with the Premier and the President."

Misuzulu said saving the bank did not mean they would save those who were corrupt within the bank, adding that some had contributed to the problems that had brought the bank where it is now. Regarding the Ingonyama Trust, Misuzulu said he wanted people to know that the land under the Ingonyama Trust was not handed to him on a silver platter but was fought for by the forefathers of the Zulu nation. Mzwanele Nyhontso, the minister of land reform and rural development, has stated that Misuzulu acted outside of his authority by suspending members of the Ingonyama Trust Board, asserting that the minister alone has such authority. Misuzulu said, "There is no Minister who can boast that he controls the land of the Zulus," without naming Nyhontso.

Ngiyobe ngikuphi mina, ekephi aMakhosi wona uZulu usukephi seliphathwa ngungqongqoshe leli lamadelamzimba? (Where will I be, where will traditional leaders and Zulus be when the Minister takes the land of martyrs) Njengobaba ongizalayo angiyena umuntu wempi kepha futhi angisona isithutha noma ivaka. Mphemba ngikhuzeleni laba abasifaka umunwe esweni. Asisathandi. Kabangalokothi bakhombe iSihlalo ngomunwe , leli yizwe lamahwanqa, yizwe laMakhosi neZindlovukazi, yizwe leZinyandezulu. Lelizwe nalesi sizwe ngeke sife ngathi, ngakho abantu kabayeke ukusifaka umunwe esweni is the size of a small ngeke.

(Like my father, I am not a violent person or a person of war, however, I am not stupid or a coward. Premier, please tell these people to stop putting their fingers in our eyes (an act of provocation). We are fed up, they must not undermine the throne, this land belongs to kings and queens, It's a land of ancestors. This land and this nation will not be destroyed under us and people must stop provoking us).