Mangosuthu Buthelezi - The man who tried to ride two horses
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This week on Sunday Times Politics Weekly we delve into the controversial legacy of IFP founder and prime minister to the Zulu nation Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who died at the weekend at the age of 95.
Buthelezi's legacy has been the centre of debate in recent days after his passing, with some labelling him a “warmonger”, a catalyst for violence and a prop or ally of the apartheid government.
On the other hand, his defenders have labelled him an iconic political figure and a struggle icon. The EFF's Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, speaking during a memorial service held in Buthelezi’s honour in Ulundi on Wednesday, said he was “a man of peace”.
Our host, deputy editor of the Sunday Times Mike Siluma, is joined by Dr Bongani Ngqulunga, academic, author and director of the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Johannesburg, and academic researcher and violence monitor Mary de Haas.
They assess the complexities of Buthelezi's story, his role in the violent past of South Africa, the fairness of this depiction and the impact this played on his political mileage. They also unpack his relationship with the apartheid government, and between the IFP with ANC then and going forward.
Sunday Times Politics Weekly is a TimesLIVE production.
Buthelezi's legacy has been the centre of debate in recent days after his passing, with some labelling him a “warmonger”, a catalyst for violence and a prop or ally of the apartheid government.
On the other hand, his defenders have labelled him an iconic political figure and a struggle icon. The EFF's Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, speaking during a memorial service held in Buthelezi’s honour in Ulundi on Wednesday, said he was “a man of peace”.
Our host, deputy editor of the Sunday Times Mike Siluma, is joined by Dr Bongani Ngqulunga, academic, author and director of the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Johannesburg, and academic researcher and violence monitor Mary de Haas.
They assess the complexities of Buthelezi's story, his role in the violent past of South Africa, the fairness of this depiction and the impact this played on his political mileage. They also unpack his relationship with the apartheid government, and between the IFP with ANC then and going forward.
Sunday Times Politics Weekly is a TimesLIVE production.