AmaZulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has conveyed his condolences to the family of the late Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the Buthelezi clan, and the Zulu Royal Family.
Buthelezi passed away at his home in Mahlabatini, in northern KwaZulu-Natal, this morning.
He was 95.
In a statement, the King says Buthelezi served the crown diligently for more than seven decades and as an Inkosi of the Buthelezi clan for many years.
The Zulu monarch says Buthelezi’s absence will be felt by everyone who has benefited from and learnt from the elder statesman.
AmaZulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini also addressed maidens at the Annual Reed Dance at the Enyokeni Royal Palace in Nongoma.
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IFP President Velenkosini Hlabisa says a committee to coordinate funeral arrangements for the late Prince has been established.
Hlabisa and KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube have visited the Buthelezi family at Kwaphindangene in Mahlabatini in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
Hlabisa says the family has yet to meet and decide on the date of the funeral.
“It is very early to release details; I was part of the committee, which is going to be a planning committee because this is going to be one of the big funerals in terms of the people it will attract. We have set up a committee and laid out the perimeters of what the committee should start looking at. We are now going to be waiting for the family; they’ve assured us that by tomorrow they would have designated the date of the funeral because they are not all back home today, which is why they could not give a funeral date.”
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The Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (CONTRALESA) says the late Buthelezi will be remembered as one of the leaders who fought hard for proper recognition of traditional leadership in the country. CONTRALESA President Kgoshi Lameck Mokoena says traditional leaders have learned a lot from Buthelezi.
Mokoena also hailed Buthelezi for the role he played in the fight against the apartheid regime.
“If it were not for him, I don’t think the institution would not be in the constitution because he fought hard to say traditional leadership has a role to play in this country and he was not compromising on that one. I remember I was there representing the traditional leaders in the then-Transvaal and he was leading us well on that score. We feel bad that he is no more after working so hard.”
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