The office of Zulu Monarch on Saturday said it was considering taking legal action against MiWay Insurance following the leaking of a recorded conversation between him and their employee.
According to eNCA, sales agent, S'thembiso Sithole called the Zulu King, Goodwill Zwelithini, and offered him low premiums on his car insurance, house and his furniture.
Zwelithini asked Sithole if he knew who he was talking to and he responded by saying "with Zwelithini Zulu".
The king then tells Sithole that he is talking to the wrong person because he was the king of the Zulu nation.
Meeting with Zuma
Zwelithini then scolds Sithole for pestering him during a meeting with President Jacob Zuma.
The conversation ends with Zwelithini blessing Sithole, telling him he would get married soon.
In a statement, the Zulu monarch said it felt disrespected after the sales agent addressed Zwelithini by his name.
"In the Zulu culture, it is highly disrespectful for anyone to address His Majesty by his first name," said the spokesperson for the royal family, Prince Thulani Zulu.
Disappointed over leaked audio
Zulu said although the employee was remorseful after the king had reprimanded him, the royal family was disappointed that instead of making a formal apology, MiWay Insurance leaked the audio clip to members of the public.
"We do not only consider this an insult to the Zulu nation but we believe that it is an indication of a high level of intolerance of the culture and customs of indigenous people of this country."
Zulu said the office of the king was seeking legal guidance to explore possibilities of taking legal action against MiWay Insurance.
"It is our view that MiWay should be punished for the violation of the Consumer Protection Act. The act guarantees the 'right to privacy' and 'right to fair and responsible marketing'."
Zulu said the royal family would lodge a complaint with advocate Pansy Tlakula who is the Information Regulator.
Violation of privacy
"It is quite clear that MiWay has violated the Protection of Personal Information Act. The Information Regulator is mandated to enforce compliance with the act which promotes the protection of personal information by public and private bodies."
Zulu commended Zwelithini for remaining calm during the conversation with the sales agent.
"As the father of the nation, we appreciate the role of His Majesty in building a just and moral society in our province and the country as a whole," he said.
MiWay Insurance CEO Rene Otto responded to the matter in a tweet
"I just got off the phone with his Excellency the King of the Zulu nation to apologise (as CEO) on behalf of MiWay and was blown away by his sense of humour. He found it very funny that the incident is all over social media. Amazing individual. Much respect!"
"When I called the King yesterday to apologise, as CEO, on behalf of MiWay, he was very relaxed about the incident. He had a good laugh about the fact that the incident was "all over social media" and said, "don't worry, brother". We appreciate his generosity and humanness."
Otto explained that the blunder was calling the King by his first name.