PRINCE Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the longest- serving traditional prime minister of the Zulu monarchy and nation, will turn 95 on August 27 this year, a remarkable instance of longevity for one of South Africa’s modern era politicians.
Having served three Zulu kings – and helped to install two of them amid a fierce contest in the Zulu royal family – he is also a remarkable Zulu traditional figure.
His traditional prime minister role spanned decades and he once prominently used it during Codesa (Convention for a Democratic South Africa) talks to insist on the recognition of the Zulu monarch in the Constitution of a democratic South Africa and he wanted a federal state where traditional leaders were recognised.
So important was the issue to him that he once led
