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90-453: It was led until its abolition in 1994 by Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi and head of Inkatha , who implemented the limited self-governing powers decided by the South African government as part of apartheid , but rejected the nominal independence which four other homelands accepted, complaining about the fragmented nature of the state, and the inability of the apartheid government to consolidate

180-584: A bête noire of young activists in the Black Consciousness Movement and was repudiated by many in the African National Congress (ANC). A former ANC Youth League member, Buthelezi had aligned himself and Inkatha with the ANC in the 1970s, but in the 1980s their relationship became increasingly acrimonious. It emerged in the 1990s that Buthelezi had accepted money and military assistance from

270-663: A student boycott during a visit to the campus of Gideon Brand Van Zyl , the Governor-General . He later completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Natal and worked as a clerk in the government's Department of Native Affairs in Durban . In 1953, Buthelezi returned to Mahlabathini to become chief ( inkosi ) of the Buthelezi clan, a hereditary position and lifetime appointment. In his account, he had planned to become

360-483: A "liberated zone", elements of his administration were authoritarian, and he was described as personally exerting "iron-fisted control" over KwaZulu. He was not only chief minister but also finance minister, and became police minister in 1980 when the KwaZulu Police was established. In addition to alleged abuses by the police force, a common complaint was that Buthelezi restricted political organisation, making KwaZulu

450-601: A boycott of the 1994 general election , South Africa's first under universal suffrage . However, despite fears that Buthelezi would upend the peaceful transition entirely, Buthelezi and the IFP relented soon before the election, and not only participated, but also joined the Government of National Unity formed afterwards by newly elected President Mandela. Buthelezi served as Minister of Home Affairs under Mandela and under his successor, Thabo Mbeki , despite near-continuous tensions between

540-467: A claim to the premiership. During his tenure in the KwaZulu government, there were "a series of crises" as Buthelezi attempted to entrench King Zwelithini's position as a constitutional monarch and to disable him politically. In 1979, for example, he accused the king and Prince Mcwayizeni of attempting to form an opposition party together; in 1980, newspapers reported that Zwelithini had attempted to join

630-449: A de facto one-party "state" . This was the result of legal and coercive constraints, but also of the Zulu royal family's close alignment to Inkatha, which allowed Inkatha leaders "to imply that opposition to the movement is synonymous with disloyalty to the Zulu nation as a whole". Opposition was also restricted inside Inkatha – for example, the organisation's constitution prescribed that only

720-433: A landmark. Buthelezi's intimacy with the royal family thus allowed a symbiotic mutual benefit, as Buthelezi appropriated the symbols of the Zulu monarchy for political gain, particularly reviving them in service of Zulu nationalism , while also reviving the cultural relevance of the monarchy. Buthelezi told a gathering in 1985: His Majesty and I share a platform and symbolize the unity of our people. His Majesty symbolizes

810-425: A lawyer but had been advised to accept the chieftaincy by ANC leaders Albert Luthuli and Walter Sisulu . Buthelezi later recounted how Luthuli had persuaded him not to "betray my people and seek my own selfish ends away from them". He also said that his mother had encouraged him to take up the role. During apartheid, the government was responsible for recognising the status of chiefs, and Buthelezi's chieftaincy

900-454: A major issue involving the ideology of apartheid or racial separation". In 2022 a statue of Buthelezi was erected in Jozini, Ingwavuma , to commemorate his role. The value and sincerity of Buthelezi's contribution to the anti-apartheid struggle was a highly polarising issue inside South Africa during apartheid and remains controversial. Archbishop Desmond Tutu famously asked Buthelezi to leave

990-593: A meeting with the ANC in January 1991 – Buthelezi's first since 1979 – Buthelezi reportedly complained to attendees that "very few" members of the ANC National Executive Committee had not "at one time or another engaged in my vilification", and then provided a list of examples of attacks. These included that Chris Hani had called him "a government lackey and running dog" who was "living in a fool's paradise" and that Joe Slovo had said his political program

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1080-606: A membership-based organisation to reignite political mobilisation" in South Africa and to create "a cohesive force". Buthelezi also attempted to build broader political coalitions. In 1976, he formed the Black Unity Front to coordinate among bantustan leaders, and in January 1978 he spearheaded the formation of a spin-off organisation, the South African Black Alliance. The Alliance initially comprised Inkatha,

1170-479: A proxy force, in the tradition of divide and rule . However, all of the defendants were acquitted. Districts of the province and population at the 1991 census. 28°19′00″S 31°25′00″E  /  28.3167°S 31.4167°E  / -28.3167; 31.4167 Mangosuthu Buthelezi Prince Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi ( / ˌ m æ ŋ ɡ oʊ ˈ s uː t uː ˈ ɡ æ tʃ ə ˌ b ʊ t ə ˈ l eɪ z i / ; 27 August 1928 – 9 September 2023)

1260-537: A separate political dispensation, that its members have certain unique personality traits, that an insult directed at that identity deserves retribution, and that its survival justifies conflict with other organizations and individuals. A notable feature of Inkatha was its "over-personalised" character: it was, in R. W. Johnson 's phrase, perceived "as a one-man band ". Buthelezi remained Inkatha's sole president throughout apartheid and for more than two decades afterwards. According to Marina Ottaway , Buthelezi envisioned

1350-529: A simple product of genealogy ". A more specific challenge to Buthelezi's authority came after King Cyprian's death in 1968. Prince Mcwayizeni Israel Zulu insisted that he was the monarch's rightful senior advisor, as the most senior Zulu prince, and ahead of Zwelithini's coronation , he entered into a decades-long feud with Buthelezi. Buthelezi was rumoured to have been estranged from the royal family from 1968 to 1970, as his status as traditional prime minister came into question. Buthelezi's native region,

1440-530: A territory that would ultimately become fully independent of white-ruled South Africa. KwaZulu (meaning "place of the Zulus") was the bantustan allocated to Zulu South Africans, who, under the Black Homelands Citizenship Act of 1970, had their South African citizenship revoked in favour of nominal KwaZulu citizenship. In line with Bantu Homelands Constitution Act of 1971, a separate constitution

1530-406: A viable and contiguous territory for KwaZulu, in the face of stiff resistance from whites. F. W. de Klerk later commented in an interview that he believed that Buthelezi would have accepted independence had his homeland been given the port of Richards Bay , a proposal that failed due to the white population's resistance to the idea. An attempt to transfer parts of the homeland, along with parts of

1620-408: A white system. Because he was the political leader of a bantustan, Buthelezi's alleged "collaboration" with the separate development scheme, and therefore with apartheid, was highly controversial. Nevertheless, he always insisted that his role in the bantustan system was compatible with his avowed opposition to apartheid. Academic Laurence Piper, conceding that Buthelezi's brand of resistance politics

1710-725: Is a member of the Zulu nation". An Inkatha membership card was known to be a virtual prerequisite for expedient access to public services and, in many sectors, for employment in the public service. In 1978, for example, the legislative assembly adopted a ruling that public servants' standing in Inkatha would be taken into account when the Public Service Commission assessed them for promotion; and in 1989 schoolteachers complained about being "invited" to join Inkatha or risk being fired. Thus R. W. Johnson referred to Inkatha's reputation for recruitment by means of "administrative coercion";

1800-428: Is possible that Buthelezi and his advisors believed that his popularity should earn him recognition by the ANC as leader of the anti-apartheid movement. In June 1980, the ANC's Alfred Nzo delivered a public repudiation of Buthelezi and Inkatha, widely reported on in South Africa, in which he said that Buthelezi's actions could no longer be seen as the flawed implementation of good intentions but had to be recognised as

1890-579: Is that if the South African Government does not deliver the goods on the basis of its own scheme, the Blacks of this country will become even more disillusioned than at present... I am not prepared to say that separate development is the only hope, but it may be a contribution to the development of the situation. It may be a contribution to the unravelling of the problem, insofar as, if we attain full independence, our hand will be strengthened. Gone will be

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1980-607: The New York Times compared it to Tammany Hall at its peak. King Zwelithini was Inkatha's official patron, and the entire membership of the KwaZulu Legislative Assembly served on Inkatha's National Council, formally designated in terms of the Inkatha constitution as the supreme body of the "Zulu nation". Human Rights Watch said in 1993 that KwaZulu government institutions were "virtually identical" with Inkatha institutions, and that Inkatha often benefitted from

2070-522: The Anglo-Zulu War , and also claimed that his father was appointed traditional prime minister to his uncle, King Solomon, in 1925. Buthelezi's hereditary claims in this respect are not uncontroversial. In particular, some Zulus dispute Buthelezi's claim that his paternal great-great-grandfather, Nqengelele Buthelezi, was "the most senior advisor" to King Shaka , founder of the Zulu kingdom ; they argue that

2160-464: The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in 1975, leading it until 2019, and became its president emeritus soon after that. He was a political leader during Nelson Mandela 's incarceration (1964–1990) and continued to be so in the post-apartheid era, when he was appointed by Mandela as Minister of Home Affairs , serving from 1994 to 2004. Buthelezi was one of the most prominent black politicians of

2250-514: The Inkosiship of the Buthelezi clan , being the son of Inkosi Mathole Buthelezi , and was traditional prime minister to three successive Zulu kings , beginning with King Cyprian Bhekuzulu in 1954. He was himself born into the Zulu royal family; his maternal grandfather was King Dinuzulu who was a son of King Cetshwayo and whom Buthelezi played in the 1964 film called Zulu . While leader of KwaZulu, Buthelezi both strengthened and appropriated

2340-571: The Labour Party , and the Indian Reform Party; Buthelezi was elected its chairman. Its objectives were to forge black unity and prepare for a broad-based national convention, with a longer-term goal of becoming the major opposition force to the apartheid government. However, its impact was "minimal", partly because its multi-racial participants were wary of Buthelezi's "dubious record on cross-ethnic relations". Although Buthelezi dubbed KwaZulu

2430-522: The South African Institute of Race Relations , it was clear that Buthelezi and the ANC had fallen out over some form of disagreement about "who was going to be the tail and who was going to be the dog". While the ANC had only a meagre presence inside South Africa at the time, opinion polling indicated that Buthelezi was certainly one of black South Africa's most popular politicians, and Inkatha had an estimated membership of about 250,000 people; it

2520-528: The United Workers Union of South Africa , allied with Inkatha, to counter the growing influence of the ANC-aligned Congress of South African Trade Unions . According to observers, the ANC's repudiation of Buthelezi, coupled with its diplomatic offensive in the 1980s, narrowed Buthelezi's political options and opened a competition over popular support, partly explaining Buthelezi's growing turn in

2610-445: The apartheid army but had been blocked by Buthelezi. Despite this, in other respects the Zulu monarchy underwent a renaissance during Buthelezi's premiership. After the defeat of the Zulu kingdom in 1879, Zulu monarchs had become subjects of the South African government, and the monarchy's power and stature had suffered; in 1951 King Cyprian's recognition by the NP government was something of

2700-492: The apartheid era . He was the sole political leader of the KwaZulu government, entering when it was still the native reserve of Zululand in 1970 and remaining in office until it was abolished in 1994. Critics described his administration as a de facto one-party state , intolerant of political opposition and dominated by Inkatha (now the IFP), Buthelezi's political movement. In parallel to his mainstream political career, Buthelezi held

2790-487: The kaNgwane bantustan, which would have been ceded to Swaziland in its entirety under the proposed deal. Buthelezi argued that the apartheid government intended to use the land deal to extend South African influence in Swaziland; it would have allowed Swaziland to act as a conservative buffer state between South Africa and the left-wing, pro-ANC Frontline State of Mozambique. Observers also pointed out that it would advance

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2880-662: The native reserve of Zululand, was affected by the Bantu Self-Government Act of 1959 and the first Bantu authorities were established in 1959, though with significant resistance from parts of the population and tribal leadership. In 1970, the Zululand Territorial Authority was established, and its 200 members, most of them traditional leaders, unanimously elected Buthelezi its chief executive officer . Buthelezi again claimed that ANC leaders – Albert Luthuli and Oliver Tambo – had encouraged him to accept

2970-404: The 1970s, Buthelezi publicly embraced the ANC and adopted its symbols – including its colours, green, black and gold – for Inkatha. He reminded people that Seme and John Dube had been involved in Inkatha's predecessor movement, founded by his uncle. The overwhelming implication of many of Buthelezi's public statements during the time was that Inkatha was continuous with the historical tradition of

3060-502: The 1980s towards appeals to conservative constituencies in South Africa and abroad, including through increased emphasis on Zulu nationalism. Minister of Home Affairs (South Africa) The Minister of Home Affairs is the minister in the Cabinet of South Africa with responsibility for the Department of Home Affairs . This position is currently filled by Leon Schreiber , who

3150-466: The ANC and even constituted, in a symbolic sense, the ANC's internal wing. In 1985, after the relationship had deteriorated, Tambo said that the ANC leadership had agreed to the formation of Inkatha in 1975 in the hope that Buthelezi could lead mass anti-apartheid mobilisation through the legal avenues available to politicians in the bantustan system. His view was that the ANC had not sufficiently supported and guided Inkatha after 1975 and that Buthelezi

3240-596: The African National Congress. Buthelezi made much of his association with Pixley ka Isaka Seme , a founder of the ANC, who was married to his mother's half-sister . He counted Seme, Albert Luthuli , and Mahatma Gandhi as among his political influences; he was also inspired by Martin Luther King 's leadership of the American civil rights movement . He was expelled from Fort Hare in 1950 for participating in

3330-485: The IFP and the governing ANC. In subsequent years, the IFP struggled to expand its popular base beyond the new province of KwaZulu-Natal , which had absorbed KwaZulu in 1994. As the party's electoral fortunes declined, Buthelezi survived attempts by rivals within the party to unseat him. He remained the IFP's president until the party's 35th National General Conference in August 2019, when he declined to seek re-election and

3420-426: The KwaZulu chief minister could serve as party president. The Inkatha constitution additionally set out that all Zulus automatically became members of Inkatha, although it also set out membership fees; as Buthelezi explained in 1975, "all members of the Zulu nation are automatically members of Inkatha if they are Zulus. There may be members who are inactive members as no one escapes being a member as long as he or she

3510-420: The KwaZulu region. It came to be closely associated with Zulu nationalism, often boosted by myths of dubious historical veracity. Buthelezi's biographer, Gerhard Maré, wrote in 1991: Inkatha has relied on politicized cultural diversity, on a militant Zulu ethnicity, to mobilize people into its fold... Buthelezi argues that "Zulus," a social construct that has been anything but constant over time, should have

3600-580: The NP government and from his colleagues in the Zululand tribal authorities, and that he later delayed KwaZulu's progression to full self-government by delaying the required elections, including by insisting that voter registration should be conducted using new identity cards rather than the detested dompas (pass books). His critics submit that the delays were designed to give him time to sideline monarchist leaders who might otherwise have sought to unseat him. Yet his supporters respond that he sought to sideline

3690-588: The Natal region. However, Buthelezi was instrumental in setting up teacher training and nursing colleges throughout the late-1970s and the early-1980s. According to him, he spearheaded the establishment of the Mangosuthu University of Technology in Umlazi through fundraising, primarily from mining magnate Harry Oppenheimer , with whom he was friendly. Throughout apartheid, Buthelezi stridently refused to accept

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3780-535: The Nation) or Inkatha ye Nkululeko ye Sizwe (Inkatha of National Liberation). The name "inkatha" derived from the sacred Zulu coil , a symbol of the unity of the Zulu nation and of fealty to the Zulu king. The name Inkatha ya kaZulu came from its predecessor movement, founded by Buthelezi's maternal uncle King Solomon in 1928, which Buthelezi sought to revive. The earlier movement was, in Buthelezi's words, "a national movement to restore national consciousness and pride"; it

3870-450: The Swazi homeland KaNgwane , to the neighbouring country of Swaziland (now Eswatini) in 1982 was never realized. This would have given land-locked Swaziland access to the sea. The deal was negotiated by the governments of South Africa and Swaziland, but was met by popular opposition in the territory meant to be transferred. The territory had been claimed by King Sobhuza of Swaziland as part of

3960-485: The Swazi monarchs' traditional realm, and the South African government hoped to use the homeland as a buffer zone against guerrilla infiltration from Mozambique . South Africa responded to the failure of the transfer by temporarily suspending the autonomy of KaNgwane, then restoring it in December 1982 and granting it nominal self-rule in 1984. KwaZulu was merged with the surrounding South African province of Natal to form

4050-400: The Zulu traditional leadership who had argued that executive powers should be vested in the Zulu monarchy. This proposition had tempted the NP government, partly because of Buthelezi's "patently obstructive and critical stance". On some accounts, it was during this struggle that Buthelezi began to appeal to his family's tradition of providing traditional prime ministers, seeking to establish

4140-585: The actions of a "police agent" and "jail warder". Completing the break, Tambo said that Inkatha had "emerged on the side of the enemy against the people". Throughout the 1980s, there was strong anti-Buthelezi sentiment among segments of the ANC. An internal ANC document published in June 1985 said that Buthelezi "projects the illusion of autonomy from the enemy and pretends to pursue national aims. His counterrevolutionary role must be exposed and we must work to win over his supporters and deprive him of his social base." At

4230-411: The anti-apartheid African National Congress (ANC) Youth League in 1949. In January 2012, he said of this period: I was taught by Professor ZK Matthews , I knew Dr John Langalibalele Dube , I was mentored by Inkosi Albert Luthuli , and I worked closely with Mr Oliver Tambo and Mr Nelson Mandela . My personal history cannot be extricated from the history of the liberation struggle, or from that of

4320-425: The apartheid government shelved the plan. In a prime example of his strategy of using the apartheid government's own policies against it ( see below ), he won the case with the argument that the government's own law required it to consult bantustan leaders on the deal. Allister Sparks said it was "the first time in memory" that "black South Africans have forced the white segregationist government to back down on

4410-456: The apartheid policy of stripping black South Africans of South African citizenship and that it could be a form of retaliation against Buthelezi for refusing to accept KwaZulu independence. Buthelezi held popular demonstrations against the deal, lobbied the Organisation of African Unity for support, and challenged the plan four successive times in court. While a fifth judgement was pending,

4500-597: The apartheid regime for Inkatha, which stoked the political violence in KwaZulu and Natal in the 1980s and 1990s. Buthelezi also played a complicated role during the negotiations to end apartheid , for which he helped set the framework as early as 1974 with the Mahlabatini Declaration of Faith . During the Congress for a Democratic South Africa , the IFP under Buthelezi lobbied for a federal system in South Africa with strong guarantees for regional autonomy and

4590-463: The bantustans: his policy was "one of accepting separate development as the only practical alternative and trying to force the government to match theory with practice". Also in 1971, in a column for the Rand Daily Mail entitled "End This Master-Servant Relationship", Buthelezi called on the central government to provide KwaZulu with more land and resources, arguing: The plain truth of the matter

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4680-517: The battle scenes, then they noticed a family resemblance to my great-grandfather. They said how would it be if you played the part? I agreed." In 1954, King Cyprian appointed Buthelezi his traditional prime minister – Buthelezi lists the full title as Traditional Prime Minister to the Zulu Nation ( uNdunankulu kaZulu ) and Monarch. He was reappointed by Cyprian's successor, King Goodwill Zwelithini , in 1968. According to Buthelezi, his paternal family

4770-440: The days then, one hopes, when people will think of us simply as ' kaffirs .' Buthelezi's admirers point out that he initially, and skilfully, resisted the central government's plan to implement separate development in KwaZulu, taking an "intransigent" stance that set him apart from the leaders of other black areas. They argue that he submitted to the process of drafting the KwaZulu constitution only under intense pressure both from

4860-414: The deep spirit of unity for the Zulu people and I symbolize the political determination to pursue time-honoured values which have always been important in the struggle for liberty. Together His Majesty and I share the load which is placed on the Zulu nation. We will never be torn apart. According to Jo Beall , Buthelezi was able to mobilise Zulu symbols in this way because he maintained a support base among

4950-422: The development of a framework for power-sharing and political reform in South Africa. Another of Inkatha's declared objectives was to uphold the " inalienable rights " of Zulus to self-determination and national independence. Formally, and as Buthelezi often insisted, Inkatha was not a sectional party but a national movement open to all black South Africans; in practice its members were almost all Zulus from

5040-508: The draft constitution for KwaZulu/Natal proposed by the KwaZulu Legislative Assembly are not respected. The KwaZulu Police are allowed to operate with an almost complete lack of accountability for their actions, and are routinely guilty of incompetence, bias and even criminal activities... In these circumstances, the continuing existence of the KwaZulu homeland is itself one of the principal obstacles to free political activity in

5130-507: The first Shaka Day celebration; he later said that the ceremony was the first time he or King Cyprian Bhekuzulu had ever worn "traditional" Zulu dress , which they did frequently thereafter. He also acted in the 1964 film Zulu , about the Battle of Rorke's Drift , playing the role of his real-life great-grandfather, King Cetshwayo kaMpande . He said that the role had already been cast but "when they came to my place, mainly to get extras for

5220-476: The formation and growth of Inkatha as a means of extending his ideological and organisational control of KwaZulu. It has also been suggested that he hoped the movement would help entrench his power over King Zwelithini. Buthelezi said that the idea had been born on a visit to Lusaka, Zambia , in 1974, when Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda , "speaking on behalf of the Frontline States ", had "urged me to found

5310-399: The former chairman of Anglo American , said that Buthelezi's refusal to accept nominal independence made him "the anvil on which apartheid was broken". Buthelezi agreed with this assessment. In a characteristic rebuke of his critics in 1991, he said that they were "snapping at my heels from behind as I march forward" towards a prosperous, stable and non-racial South Africa: "they do not have

5400-588: The full – but largely nominal – political and legal independence proffered by the central government and accepted by the TBVC states . In 1976, at a rally commemorating the Sharpeville massacre , he declared, "South Africa is one country. It has one destiny. Those who are attempting to divide the land of our birth are attempting to stem the tide of history." In April 1981, he rejected " Pretoria 's plans for this fraudulent independence", saying that Zulus would "prefer to die in

5490-487: The funeral of Robert Sobukwe in 1978 because supporters of the Pan Africanist Movement objected fiercely to his presence, throwing stones at him and calling him a "sell-out" and "government stooge". Though Buthelezi left the event at Tutu's request, he had reportedly told the youths, "If you chaps want to kill me, do so. I am prepared to die "; he reflected afterwards, "I remember our Lord 's crucifixion . He

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5580-519: The greatness in them to formulate the tasks, let alone to pursue the tasks". While he was leader of KwaZulu, Buthelezi's relationship with the ANC was complex. Inkatha had been founded in 1975 with the blessing of the ANC leadership, including ANC president Oliver Tambo ; the ANC had been banned by the South African government since 1960 and operated in exile from Lusaka, Zambia. According to Buthelezi, he remained in contact with Tambo and with Nelson Mandela, then imprisoned, whom he respected greatly. In

5670-563: The hundreds of thousands than be forced to be foreigners in their homeland, which is South Africa". In 1982, Buthelezi led a political and legal battle to block the government from carrying out a proposed land deal, which would have seen the region of Ingwavuma in northern KwaZulu – from the Mozambican border in the west to the Indian Ocean coast in the east – ceded to neighbouring Swaziland . In this he partnered with Enos Mabuza , leader of

5760-471: The incumbent King Solomon kaDinuzulu . In 1923, she became the tenth but principal wife (and ultimately one of 40 wives) of Buthelezi's father, Mathole Buthelezi. Mathole Buthelezi was a traditional leader as chief of the Buthelezi clan and his marriage to the princess was arranged by King Solomon to heal a rift between the clan and the royal family . Buthelezi is sometimes referred to by his clan name, Shenge, used as an honorific . Buthelezi

5850-449: The mid-1980s) and seven Zulus, partisans of Buthelezi's Inkatha Freedom Party of complicity in a massacre of thirteen people, ten years earlier, in a rural village in the KwaZulu homeland known as KwaMakhutha . The trial was an attempt by Nelson Mandela 's new government to bring to justice those at the top of apartheid's security forces. They were alleged to have purposefully fanned violence among blacks by arming and training one faction as

5940-447: The monarchists in the knowledge that they were likely to "organiz[e] the authority on conservative lines in cooperation with the white bureaucracy". Admirers also point to his refusal to accept independence for KwaZulu, which – especially since KwaZulu was the country's most populous bantustan – stymied the full implementation of separate development. Speaking in December 1994, Gavin Relly ,

6030-422: The new province of KwaZulu-Natal . The name kwaZulu translates roughly as Place of Zulus , or more formally Zululand . In March 1996, two years after South Africa's transition to majority rule, the trial of The State v. Peter Msane & Others was held due to the accusation against thirteen retired white generals, including Magnus Malan (who served as defence minister at the height of emergency rule in

6120-475: The oppressed majority in the hiatus left by the banning of political parties [by the apartheid government]. From the very beginning, we spoke of equality, freedom, negotiations and peaceful resistance ". In the 1970s, Inkatha's declared objectives included the liberation of Africans from cultural domination by whites; the eradication of neocolonialism and imperialism ; the abolition of all forms of racial discrimination , racialism , and racial segregation ; and

6210-530: The position. Over the next decade, Zululand was transformed into KwaZulu , the most populous of the ten bantustans (or "homelands") established by the South African government as part of the NP's scheme of grand apartheid. Under the Bantu Self-Government Act, each of the Bantu or black African ethnic groups would govern itself, under Bantu authorities pursuing the policy of separate development , in

6300-453: The primary non-state perpetrator" of violence during the apartheid era and named him as "a major perpetrator of violence and human rights abuses". Prince Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi was born on 27 August 1928, at Ceza Swedish Missionary Hospital in Mahlabathini in southeastern Natal . His mother was Princess Magogo kaDinuzulu , the daughter of former Zulu King Dinuzulu and sister of

6390-527: The protection and resources of the KwaZulu state. From 1976, Inkatha rolled out "education for nationhood" in public schools, introducing Inkatha's "philosophy" into the curriculum, and public teachers were required to make time available for students to participate in the activities of Inkatha's youth wing , the Inkatha Youth Brigade. A 1993 report by Human Rights Watch concluded: Freedom of expression , assembly , and association all endorsed by

6480-409: The public profile of the monarchy, reviving it as a symbol of Zulu nationalism . Bolstered by royal support, state resources, and Buthelezi's personal popularity, Inkatha became one of the largest political organisations in the country. During the same period, Buthelezi publicly opposed apartheid and often took a patently obstructive stance toward the apartheid government. He lobbied consistently for

6570-545: The region's other traditional leaders, who "bought into and gave credence to his use of Zulu ethnic identity for political purposes". Buthelezi founded the Inkatha National Cultural Liberation Movement at KwaNzimela outside Melmoth on 21 March 1975 and became its first president. In Zulu , it was first known as Inkatha ya kaZulu (Inkatha of the Zulu), and then renamed Inkatha ye Sizwe (Inkatha of

6660-430: The release of Nelson Mandela and staunchly refused to accept the nominal independence which the government offered to KwaZulu, correctly judging that it was a superficial independence. However, Buthelezi was derided in some quarters for participating in the bantustan system, a central pillar of apartheid, and for his moderate stance on such issues as free markets , armed struggle, and international sanctions . He became

6750-516: The role was filled by Ngomane of the Mthethwas , and also point out that several kings in the intervening period did not have Buthelezis as advisers. Buthelezi's supporters sometimes claim instead that Nqengelele was a senior advisor "alongside Ngomane". Others point out that, especially since the colonial period , when traditional leadership structures were politicised to help administer indirect rule , traditional leadership positions "have rarely been

6840-494: The status of Zulu traditional leaders . This proposal did not take hold and Buthelezi became aggrieved by what he perceived as the growing marginalisation both of the IFP and of himself personally, as negotiations were increasingly dominated by the ANC, and the white National Party government. He established the Concerned South Africans Group with other conservatives , withdrew from the negotiations, and launched

6930-414: The territory was declared fully "self-governing" and its government was granted additional powers. The 1972 KwaZulu constitution vested all executive powers in Buthelezi and granted the Zulu king a largely ceremonial role, requiring him to "hold himself aloof from party politics and sectionalism ". This was a political triumph for Buthelezi. Viewed as a modernist, he had prevailed against monarchists in

7020-415: Was tribalism in disguise. Buthelezi had responded by criticising the exiled ANC in turn. By the mid-1980s, he claimed publicly that the ANC in exile was not the genuine standard-bearer of the pre-1960 ANC of Seme and Luthuli; Inkatha, instead, was the heir of its political principles and historical role in the liberation of black people in South Africa. He also founded in 1986 a conservative trade union,

7110-440: Was "more successful than any other homeland leader in asserting his own autonomy" against the apartheid state. In 1971, Buthelezi said that, "Homeland leaders who have accepted separate development have done so because it is the only way in which Blacks in South Africa can express themselves politically." He consistently lobbied for the government to make the separate development policy "meaningful" by granting genuine autonomy to

7200-425: Was "peculiar", described him as "a conservative nationalist intent on 'using the system against itself' by advancing anti-apartheid politics within the boundaries of government tolerance". In this vein, responding to the accusation that he had switched allegiances, Buthelezi said, "What I'm doing is working within the system". Indeed, historian Stephen Ellis wrote that, perhaps excepting Bantu Holomisa , Buthelezi

7290-448: Was a South African politician and Zulu prince who served as the traditional prime minister to the Zulu royal family from 1954 until his death in 2023. He was appointed to this post by King Bhekuzulu , the son of King Solomon kaDinuzulu , a brother to Buthelezi's mother Princess Magogo kaDinuzulu . Buthelezi was chief minister of the KwaZulu bantustan during apartheid and founded

7380-578: Was educated at Impumalanga Primary School at Mahashini in Nongoma from 1935 to 1943, then at Adams College , a famous mission school in Amanzimtoti , from 1944 to 1946. From 1948 to 1950, he studied at the University of Fort Hare in the eastern Cape Province . In 1948, the National Party was elected to government in South Africa and began implementing a formal system of apartheid , and Buthelezi joined

7470-495: Was influenced by that of Steve Biko , the leading Black Consciousness intellectual, who had argued that the apartheid government was exploiting Buthelezi – rather than vice versa, as Buthelezi believed – and that Buthelezi "solves so many conscience problems" both for white South Africans and for foreign observers. Indeed, in his famous exposition of blackness as a political identification, Biko used Buthelezi as his example of someone who appeared black but operated as an extension of

7560-623: Was not recognised until 1957, according to him because the government was wary of his activism. In other accounts, the delay was caused by a succession battle in the Buthelezi family, in which the government ultimately favoured Buthelezi over his elder half-brother Mceleli. Mceleli was later banished from the region. As chief, Buthelezi was involved in organising a ceremony to unveil the Shaka Memorial in Stanger in September 1954, sometimes called

7650-434: Was primarily a traditionalist cultural movement. According to Buthelezi, adopting the name Inkatha had been the suggestion of Bishop Alphaeus Zulu , who hoped that an emphasis on cultural matters might protect the organisation from being banned by the apartheid government. Yet the new Inkatha had political aims: on the movement's 40th anniversary in 2015 Buthelezi said he had formed the party to "reignite mobilisation among

7740-553: Was promulgated for KwaZulu in 1972 to provide for "stage one" of the territory's self-government; it created the indirectly elected KwaZulu Legislative Assembly, dominated by traditional leaders, which replaced the Zululand Territorial Authority. Under this new system, Buthelezi became head of the executive branch as the Chief Executive Councillor of KwaZulu ; his title was changed to Chief Minister in February 1977 when

7830-629: Was spat on too". The Black Consciousness Movement was particularly critical; for example, the South African Students' Organisation organised demonstrations at the University of Zululand in 1976 to protest the award of an honorary doctorate to Buthelezi. In the late 1970s, Tambo of the ANC told Herbert Vilakazi that "these '76 boys" – young ANC members radicalised during the 1976 Soweto Uprising and influenced by Black Consciousness – were insisting that he should "stop having relations with Buthelezi" and "consider him an enemy". Their stance

7920-452: Was succeeded by Velenkosini Hlabisa . In the 2019 general election , he was elected to a sixth consecutive term as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the IFP. He was the oldest MP in his country at the time of his death in 2023. Buthelezi's role during the final decades of apartheid is controversial, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission found that the IFP under Buthelezi's leadership "was

8010-455: Was the ANC's "fault". The turning point was a meeting between Buthelezi and Tambo in London on 30 October 1979. In Buthelezi's account of the meeting, the ANC proposed that Inkatha operate as its surrogate in KwaZulu, particularly providing safe houses and recruits for the armed wing Umkhonto weSizwe ; Buthelezi refused because he objected to the ANC's armed struggle. According to an analyst at

8100-446: Was traditionally responsible for providing the royal family with its prime ministers, although the term itself was apparently a new innovation and referred to what previously might have been called the king's premier chief, his most senior advisor among the traditional leaders beneath him. He pointed in particular to his paternal great-grandfather, Mnyamana, who was a senior advisor to his maternal great-grandfather, King Cetshwayo, during

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