OBITUARY: The life and times of Zulu Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi

For many South Africans, politician and Zulu traditional minister Prince Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi cannot be separated from the brutal political violence wielded by Inkatha militias in the Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal townships.

The 95-year-old died early on Saturday morning.

He had been admitted to hospital in August after suffering health complications. He had reportedly lost the ability to speak. He returned home on 3 September.

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A Zulu royal, Buthelezi was born on 27 August 1928 in Mahlabathini.

He was the firstborn child of Mathole Buthelezi, the traditional leader of the Buthelezi clan. His mother Princess Magogo was the daughter of King Dinizulu kaCetshwayo and Queen Silomo.

The late Zulu king Goodwill Zwelithini was Buthelezi’s nephew.

Growing up in rural KwaZulu-Natal, Buthelezi’s childhood was shaped by the values and pride of his Zulu heritage.

Known for his relentless advocation of Zulu nationalism, he founded the Inkatha yeNkululeko yeSizwe in 1975, a cultural organisation which later became known as the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).

Struggle politics at Fort Hare

The IFP founder attended the iconic Adam’s College in Amanzimtoti where he completed his matric in the 1940s.

A former Christian missionary, other high-profile Africans, including the first ANC president John Langalibalele Dube and one of the party founders Pixley ka Isaka Seme also stomped the school’s corridors.

Among the black staffers was the founder of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) ZK Matthews, who later became the school’s first black principal.

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But it was at the historical Fort Hare University that Buthelezi immersed himself formally into politics when he joined the ANCYL, founded by Anton Lembede.

The institution was bustling with liberation politics, producing future icons and statesmen, and Buthelezi became part of the vibrant student politics.

However, he did not finish his studies as he was expelled in 1950 for taking part in a protest opposing a visit by the then governor-general of the Union of South Africa, Gideon Brand Van Zyl.

The young prince found himself back home where he subsequently became a chief of the Buthelezis.

Bantustan leader

Buthelezi’s collaboration with the white apartheid regime set him on a collision course with ANC leaders who demanded total freedom, while Buthelezi advocated for a federal state for KwaZulu-Natal.

The deadly clashes between the ANC and IFP supporters are well documented.

In 1970, Buthelezi assumed the top public servant post as head of the KwaZulu homeland, one of the Bantustans established by the white apartheid government in 1948 to enforce racial and tribal separation.

Some saw the appointment as the stroke by the puppet master, but Buthelezi saw it as an opportunity to advocate for the rights of the Zulus within the limits of the apartheid system.

He wanted an independent KwaZulu, and even went as far as drafting and adopting a new constitution for the homeland in 1992 through KwaZulu’s authority – the legislative assembly.

Through his cultural outfit which was later called the IFP, Buthelezi sought to carve out some self-determination for the Zulu people.

To other freedom fighters, he was a willing tool for the apartheid government.

‘My hands are clean’

Buthelezi has vehemently denied his role in the brutal killings of thousands in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in the 1980s and 1990s.

Wearing red cloth on their head and armbands and sometimes armed by the apartheid government, the IFP militia mowed down nearby township residents, bringing the country to a near-reversal of the talks that ushered the first democratic elections.

At the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) hearings in 1998, Buthelezi infamously told the commissioners that “his hands are clean” when asked to comment on allegations by IFP hit squad members’ testimonies that he and IFP officials ordered the killings.

“I shall once again state that at no time have I ever knowingly authorised, approved or ratified any illegal activity, including political or criminal murdering.

“My hands are clean and at no time have I personally engaged directly or indirectly in any activity of gross violation of human rights,” Buthelezi was quoted as saying by the SA Press Association (Sapa).

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He and his party have over the years thwarted any attempt at linking them to the killings or the apartheid regime as he forged forward to carve a peacemaker image.

A book by ANC activist and author Jabulani Mzala Nxumalo was labelled as “propagandist” by Buthelezi.

Titled Gatsha Buthelezi: Chief with a Double Agenda, it analyses Buthelezi’s rise to power, the national struggle for freedom within the brutal apartheid regime and also questions Buthelezi’s claims of being an anti-apartheid hero.

Buthelezi relentlessly labelled the book as ANC propaganda meant to soil his legacy and had, through successful court action, removed it from shelves.

The last-minute decision to contest 1994 polls

In order to come to a mutual understanding and hold peaceful elections, the ANC and the former apartheid-era president FW De Klerk had no choice but to get Buthelezi to the negotiation table where 11 political parties took part.

To the disappointment of many, he boycotted the talks, raising concerns about the fairness of the process.

This led to a deepening political rivalry between the IFP and the ANC.

Rightwing organisation AWB members who also opposed the negotiations famously bulldozed vehicles into the World Trade Centre venue.

The demanding Buthelezi raised concerns about the fairness of the process, leading to a sharp rift between him and the late statesman Nelson Mandela.

The IFP leader threw a spanner in the works in 1990 when he also boycotted the first democratic elections, effectively holding the country to ransom.

Following multiple failed mediations attempts, concessions were made at the negotiations.

According to the Mail & Guardian, his last-minute decision to contest came about after a land deal was struck, where vast parcels of land in KwaZulu-Natal would be placed under the Ingonyama Trust, with the king as the sole trustee.

His participation brought a sigh of relief to many who feared the worst for an already unstable country.

MP and former cabinet minister

Buthelezi remained the Zulu traditional minister from 1968 to date.

He first joined Parliament as an IFP MP in 1994 and served as home affairs minister under the government of national unity and beyond until 2004.

Buthelezi stepped down as IFP leader in 2019, after 44 years at the helm.

The party conferred on him the ‘President Emeritus’ title at the 2019 conference that elected Velenkosi Hlabisa as his successor.

In the same year, Buthelezi’s wife of 67 years Audrey Thandekile Buthelezi died after a long illness.

They are survived by their children Princess Phumzile Nokuphiwa, Prince Ntuthukoyezwe Zuzifa and Princess Sibuyiselwe Angela and grandchildren.

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