Buthelezi hailed as human rights activist

By Staff Reporter

QWAQWA-President Cyril Ramaphosa has hailed late Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi as a voice of the marginalized and vulnerable.
Ramaphosa said these last Saturday while delivering eulogy at the special official category 1 funeral of founder of Inkatha Freedom party Buthelezi, who died at the age of 95, at his home, on September 9, 2023.

“Who can forget his great courage on International Aids Day on the 1st of December 2004, when he told the world that HIV/Aids had struck inside his own family, taking away two of his children. With this act he helped break the stigma around HIV/Aids, saying ‘my belief in the glory of the human spirit to rise again, again and again is stronger than ever,” Ramaphosa said.

He said Buthelezi’s great respect of his mother made him abhorrent to violence against women and children.

“He used his prominent position to speak out against men who perpetrate heinous crimes against women and children.”
Trending carefully Ramaphosa also touched on the historic event when the country was in turmoil, racked by a spiral of political violence that had begun in the mid-1980s.

“Many people were displaced from their homes. Many people died. Today is not the day to point finder and cast blame. There were a genuine and well-founded fears that in such a climate, the transition to democracy would not happen peacefully.
Buthelezi was granted a category 1 special state funeral and Ramaphosa passed his deepest condolence on behalf of the government and people of South Africa to the royal household and the Buthelezi family.

Buthelezi was a passionate advocate for institution of leadership, especially traditional leadership and fought for preservation not only Zulu custom and culture but all indigenous cultures in South Africa.
Buthelezi founded of Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in 1975 and led it till until 2019.