Buthelezi’s legacy will endure far beyond present moment, says son
The late Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s children say while there are many roles their father will be remembered for as he is laid to rest on Saturday, history will look kindly upon his long career.
His son Zuzifa Buthelezi says as much as they had to lend their father to the nation, he was an exceptional dad.
He says the 95-year-old never dictated that his children should follow his path into politics but rather encouraged them to serve.
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"That was perhaps his finest trait. He never sought what others would do. He simply laid a foundation of principle and then placed the trust in people to do the right thing.
"It was a blessing and a curse for us. As much as it inspired good people to rise to their greatest potential, it also brought tremendous pain when those who may be trusted fail to act with integrity."
Zuzifa addressed scores of mourners attending Buthelezi's official memorial service in Ulundi on Wednesday.
He said they refuse to divert their grief into anger amid some voices that choose to remember the Inkatha Freedom Party's violent history in KwaZulu-Natal.
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"The IFP shares our pain in seeing long-discredited propaganda revived in the present moment by a few individuals who have no sense of humanity. But we will not be drowned in their spiral of hatred.
"When the wide respect and wide regard by so many leaders throughout South Africa and beyond our continent, we surely answer enough. We encourage all that has been distressed and hurt by these individuals to live in the hands of God.
"And history for both will vindicate Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, and his legacy will endure far beyond this present moment."
