The longest-serving monarch of South Africa’s Zulu people has died
King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu died on Friday of complications from a diabetic condition at the age of 72. He had been in intensive care at a private hospital since last month.
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Only a week ago, KwaZulu/Natal Mangosuthu Buthelezi leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party and himself a Zulu prince said the King's condition was improving.
This morning however, Buthelezi said: “It is with the utmost grief that I inform the nation of the passing of His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini, King of the Zulu Nation.
“Tragically, while still in hospital, His Majesty’s health took a turn for the worse and he subsequently passed away in the early hours of this morning,” the statement said.
“On behalf of the Royal Family, we thank the nation for your continued prayers and support in this most difficult time.”
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa said the king "will be remembered as a much-loved, visionary monarch who made an important contribution to cultural identity, national unity and economic development".
"The nation awoke this morning to the devastating news of the passing of His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini ka Bhekuzulu, the King of the Zulu Nation. On behalf of the IFP, I express my deepest condolences." - IFP President, Velenkosini Hlabisa, MPL pic.twitter.com/pzubBBssyW
— Inkatha Freedom Party (@IFPinParliament) March 12, 2021
Depths of apartheid
Zwelithini ascended to throne on the death of his father in 1971. It was the very depth of the apartheid era.
The King resisted pressure from the racist regime to accept so-called independence under their plan to Balkanize the country and deny the racial arithmetic that left whites in the minority.
As the ceremonial and spiritual head of the 12 million Zulu people, South Africa’s largest ethnic group, he did not have political power.
That lay in the hands of Buthelezi, who was at odds with both the apartheid rulers and the the African National Congress still fighting for liberation.
Conflict with both racist regime and ANC
Conflict between supporters of the ANC and the IFP caused most of the 100 deaths between the 1990 unbanning of the ANC and first democratic election - what is called South Africa’s relatively bloodless transition to democracy.
Zwelithini did not, like his forefathers, battle colonial powers. However the modern political conflict cost more than 20,000 Zulu lives.
After that poll, the Inkatha Freedom Party held sway over the Zulu people centre in KwaZulu/Natal.
Zwelithini was seen as a conservative force insisting that the people should never forget their history which saw them defeated in 1879 by the British colonialists at Ulundi and then symbolically using this place as their modern capital.
Question over landrights
Zwelithini made changes to Zulu customs designed to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS.
He restored male circumcision outlawed by King Shaka and reintroduced the reed dance designed to encourage young woman to remain chaste before marriage.
The king leaves a burning land issue unresolved. Since apartheid days, he has administered a third of the land traditional owned by the Zulu people.
In 2018, he sought an exemption for nearly three million hectares of royal land which the government had wanted to expropriate for redistribution to landless marginalised blacks sidelined by apartheid.
As the sole trustee of 2.8 million hectares (6.9 million acres) of land through the Ingonyama Trust, he wanted his land to be left untouched, warning "all hell will break loose" if its ownership was challenged.
Various groups have taken legal action to assume this control.
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