‘Formidable leader’ Mangosuthu Buthelezi dead at 95
Inkatha Freedom Party founder and Traditional Prime Minister to the Zulu Nation, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, has died.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the 95-year-old passed away in the early hours of Saturday morning.
"Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi has been an outstanding leader in the political and cultural life of our nation, including the ebbs and flows of our liberation struggle, the transition which secured our freedom in 1994 and our democratic dispensation," said Ramaphosa.
Buthelezi, who served as democratic South Africa’s first Minister of Home Affairs, passed away in the early hours of Saturday, just two weeks after the celebration of his 95th birthday.
Buthelezi spent his 95th birthday in hospital after being admitted in July for tests and treatment for prolonged back pain.
"My thoughts and prayers and those of government and our nation go out to the Royal Household who have been blessed to share uMntwana waKwaPhindangene’s extended lifetime with him, as well as to the Zulu Nation and the leadership and membership of the Inkatha Freedom Party," says Ramaphosa. .
Ramaphosa said announcements will be made in due course, based on consultations between the government and the family, on the arrangements to mourn and honour the IFP founder.
"We shall, in due course, reflect more extensively on his extraordinary life and diverse contributions to the development of our nation. At this point in time, we embrace the Buthelezi clan in their mourning and pray that the soul of the Prince rests in peace.”
ALSO READ:
