King Goodwill Zwelithini has demanded guarantees that Zulu tribal lands “will not be touched”

The king of the Zulu tribe has formed an unlikely alliance with a right-wing Afrikaner lobby group to fight the South African government’s plans to take land from white owners without compensation.

King Goodwill Zwelithini said that his motivation in working with “the Boers” was their shared concern for the country’s food security, which he feared would be threatened if President Ramaphosa pressed ahead with his controversial expropriation plans.

“The Zulu nation I’m talking about will not exist if we don’t have food. That’s why I’m asking Afriforum of the Boers to come and help us,” King Goodwill told an annual gathering in Durban to commemorate Shaka, the first Zulu tribal king.

King Goodwill, 70, dressed in ceremonial leopardskin, called on Mr Ramaphosa to guarantee