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| Prince Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi Getty Images |
Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, traditional Prime Minister to the Zulu Monarch and Nation and founder and President Emeritus of the Inkatha Freedom Party, has died.
Buthelezi was released from the hospital barely a week ago, with his family claiming that he was healing well after being admitted.
He was hospitalised owing to chronic back discomfort.
While in the hospital, he experienced further health difficulties and spent time in the Intensive Care Unit.
He died just two weeks after he celebrated his 95th birthday in the hospital.
Buthelezi was a prominent black politician during the apartheid era, serving as the sole political leader of the KwaZulu government until its abolishment in 1994. Critics described his administration as a one-party state, intolerant of political opposition, and dominated by Inkatha (now the IFP), Buthelezi's political movement. He held the Inkosi of the Buthelezi clan and was the traditional prime minister to three successive Zulu kings.
While leading KwaZulu, Buthelezi strengthened and appropriated the public profile of the monarchy, reviving it as a symbol of Zulu nationalism. He publicly opposed apartheid and often took an obstructive stance toward the apartheid government. He lobbied consistently for the release of Nelson Mandela and refused to accept the nominal independence offered to KwaZulu, arguing that it was superficial. However, Buthelezi was derided for participating in the Bantustan system, a central pillar of apartheid, and for his moderate stance on free markets, armed struggle, and international sanctions.
He played a complicated role during the negotiations to end apartheid, helping set the framework for the Mahlabatini Declaration of Faith in 1974. The IFP under Buthelezi lobbied for a federal system in South Africa with solid guarantees for regional autonomy and the status of Zulu traditional leaders. However, this proposal did not take hold, and Buthelezi became aggrieved by the growing marginalisation of the IFP and himself.
Despite fears that Buthelezi would upend the peaceful transition entirely, Buthelezi and the IFP participated in the 1994 general election and joined the Government of National Unity formed by newly elected President Mandela. He served as Minister of Home Affairs under Mandela and Thabo Mbeki despite tensions between the IFP and the governing ANC.
