There once lived among us a true man of peace. Because of his role as an inkhosi, a traditional leader, who preached reconciliation among his people when his peers were busy distributing spears and firearms among their own, some dubbed him “the chief of peace”, writes S'thembiso Msomi
A great grandson of the Zulu king Cetshwayo, Mangosuthu Buthelezi played a controversial role throughout the turbulent years of opposition to apartheid through his leadership of the Inkatha Freedom Party
He was a powerful force as apartheid ended and bargaining over South Africa’s future began, emerging as a voice for tribal and ethnic rights, and powers for regional governments.