Zulu king 'not bothered' after alleged restaurant rumpus

King Goodwill Zwelithini is not bothered by the alleged rumpus he caused when he visited an eatery in Cape Town recently‚ a spokesman has said.

People took to social media to voice their outrage at his entourage‚ who had apparently told patrons to leave and not to make contact with the Zulu king when he dined at the Vasco da Gama Taverna at around 7pm on Saturday.

The restaurant manager‚ Rosie Lemmer‚ denied allegations that guests and the public had been inconvenienced. 

And so did Zulu royal family spokesman Prince Thulani Zulu.

"[Lemmer] said the king is a gentleman and didn't do anything wrong‚'' said Zulu.

He noted that most of the ''sarcastic'' comments were posted by white people.

"I don't think if it was the Queen [of England] they would do and say what they are saying right now … The king lives in KwaZulu-Natal. He rarely goes to Cape Town.

"Maybe something happened that they're not used to. [Maybe] they haven't seen a Zulu king. They don't know how we respect the king. They don't know the status of the king‚'' said Zulu.

''He doesn't bother himself with people who are like that. He knows who he is. He knows he is the king‚ not only of the Zulu nation‚ but the king of all people who live in KwaZulu-Natal.''

It was Cape Town writer Herman Lategan who took to Facebook after Zwelithini visited the restaurant.

"The place was cleared out‚ all customers had to pay up and go‚ or move to a separate section‚ out of sight‚'' he wrote.

His post attracted several responses - one suggested that ''there is no place for such grandiose behaviour anywhere on our planet''.

Lemmer said his visit had been ''a very pleasant experience''.

The king's private chef accompanied him but she said he did not cause a disturbance in the kitchen.