By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Mourners have described the late Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader and Traditional Prime Minister of the Zulu nation, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, as a brave leader, hero and conqueror, who worked for the dignity of people.
This as the remains of Buthelezi, who passed away on 9 September 2023, at the age of 95,en route to the cemetery in Ulundi, KwaZulu-Natal.
In a moving tribute, daughter of the late Prince, Princess Phumzile Buthelezi said, she never thought that she would one day bury the man she honoured and looked up to.
“I don’t think I will ever come across a kind man as my father. He taught us to love unconditionally.
“He taught us to be humble, and that humility is a sign of greatness. I hope that we as his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, will take away some of these good qualities that he instilled upon us,” she said.
Buthelezi’s granddaughter, famous rapper Latoya Buthelezi, said: “My grandfather served selflessly… I hope we can reflect on his life with nuance”.
Prince Zuzifa Buthelezi said his father was the anchor of the family.
“It is difficult to express the depth of our pain. He was the anchor of our family [and] a giant amongst men. Our father was first and foremost a Christian [and] second, he was a husband father and thirdly, a patriot of this nation and beyond, “Buthelezi said.
He added that his father leaves behind a legacy of service to the Zulu nation and South Africa.
In his address to mourners the former President of Nigeria, Dr Olusegun Obasanjo described Buthelezi as a hero and conqueror, who worked for the dignity of people.
“We are here to celebrate a life dedicated to making other peoples’ lives better. The death of Buthelezi is a great loss for the whole of Africa,” Obasanjo said.
Buthelezi was dogged by allegations of collaborating with the white government to fuel violence and derail the ANC’s liberation struggle – a claim he furiously denied.
Violence between Inkatha supporters and rival liberation groups killed about 12,000 people as unrest between the ANC and IFP escalated in the run-up to the democratic elections in 1994.
Following an 11th-hour turnabout, he was later appointed home affairs minister in the national unity government led by former statemen Nelson Mandela.
Slender, with distinct rectangular glasses, and a charismatic speaker, Buthelezi went on to become one of the longest serving politicians.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has honoured Buthelezi by declaring his funeral a Special Official funeral category 1 and delivered eulogy.
In a sign of residual hostility, a group IFP supporters tried to drown out Ramaphosa’s eulogy, by singing struggle-era songs and chanting: “He is not our president”.
“Today is not a day to point fingers and cast blame,” Ramaphosa said, before Buthelezi’s coffin was brought out, draped in the national flag, “Let us look forward to the future with a … focus on what unites us.”
Some of the mourners were dressed in traditional Zulu outfits made of leopard and other animal skins and held shields crafted from cow hides.