The bishops of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference paid tribute to Mangosuthu Buthelezi, a Zulu leader and prominent political rival of Nelson Mandela, upon Buthelezi’s death at the age of 95.
“Prince Buthelezi was the founder of the Inkatha Freedom party and a long-time traditional prime minister to the Zulu royal family,” said Cardinal-designate Stephen Brislin of Cape Town. “Although he was often involved in controversies and many political tensions, he was a devoted father, a committed Christian, and a practicing member of the Anglican Church.”
Encyclopaedia Britannica notes that Buthelezi rejected “guerrilla strategies and calls for economic sanctions against South Africa as means to end apartheid,” and that his “pro-capitalist stance” was in “stark contrast to the socialist ideals embraced by other black liberation groups.”