THE Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in Gauteng hosted a memorial service in honour of the life and legacy of its founder and former president, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi on Sunday, 15 October in Mofolo Park, Soweto.
Buthelezi was laid to rest on 16 September in Ulundi, KZN.
Delivering the keynote address, IFP president Velenkosini Hlabisa said the ANC and IFP have a responsibility to own up to the violence that happened in South Africa.
“We have a responsibility to close that painful chapter and build a new society in South Africa. Secondly, the ANC in the reconciliation agenda needs to publicly apologise for the propaganda they said about uMntwana wakwaPhindangene, calling him a sellout and calling him a snake to be hit in the head,” said Hlabisa.
He said in terms of a true reconciliation between the ANC and the IFP, that was a bridge they'd cross when they got there.
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IFP Gauteng provincial chairman Bonginkosi Dlamini said that Sunday was a continuation of the celebration of a life well lived of the servant leadership Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who unfortunately left this world after serving the country.
“He served the country that he loved so much for more than seven decades. Today we are giving the people of Soweto who were not able to attend the funeral an opportunity to come and celebrate with us,” said Dlamini.
Veteran apartheid-era South African politician and Zulu prince Buthelezi died at the age of 95 and his death was announced by President Cyril Ramaposa.
Buthelezi, who served as South Africa’s first minister of Home Affairs, died in the early hours of Saturday, 9 September 2023, just two weeks after the celebration of his 95th birthday.
IFP Gauteng Youth Brigade chairwoman, Dalsy Manganyi Shenge acknowledged the youth and encouraged them to carry Buthelezi's legacy in bettering South Africa.
