Controversial South African political figure and Zulu minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi dies at 95

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME
Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African president Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the death of controversial South African politician and traditional minister of the Zulu ethnic group Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi at the age of 95. Buthelezi founded the Inkatha Freedom Party, the third-largest political party in South Africa when the country transitioned from the racist apartheid system to a democratic one in 1994. Buthelezi was part of the late Nelson Mandela’s first cabinet when the latter became South Africa’s first democratically elected president in 1994. His legacy has remained contested due to the role he played during South Africa’s apartheid era. In a statement on Saturday, Ramaphosa called him “an outstanding leader.”