Professor Otty Nxumalo, born in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, is a multi-talented man with degrees from the Universities of South Africa (UNISA), Harvard, and Zululand.
From 1994 to 2000, he was the Director General of KwaZulu Natal, making significant contributions to education.
As an author, his works range from novels and poetry to short stories and an authorised biography of King Goodwill Zwelithini. His writing often tackles themes like nature, love, and social issues, making strong political statements.
Meanwhile, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who recently died at age 95, was a powerful figure in South African politics, known for leading the Inkatha movement, later renamed the Inkatha Federal Party (IFP).
He was a member of the Zulu Royal Family and deeply loved and respected throughout the Zulu nation.
One of his major accomplishments was challenging the apartheid government’s plans for the KwaZulu homeland, which eventually led to negotiations for a new South Africa. He was a strong advocate for a federal South Africa (with self-governing provinces) and was, in many ways, more popular than Nelson Mandela.
The African National Congress (ANC) conspired to undermine Buthelezi and the IFP through a “people’s war,” resulting in thousands of deaths. It was a strategy used by the ANC during the late stages of apartheid, to create as much chaos and unrest as possible, to weaken the existing government and any black opposition groups (like the IFP). This was done mainly through acts of violence, protests, and other disruptive activities. The ANC aimed to make the country ungovernable, hoping that this would speed up the end of apartheid and bring them to power.
Buthelezi was one of the few who spoke out against this violence, condemning the ANC’s tactics. Despite being frequently labelled as an apartheid agent by the ANC and its allies, he remained steadfast in his principles. A leaked ANC document, from 1992, identified Buthelezi as a formidable opponent and the only real obstacle to a socialist South Africa. It outlined strategies to discredit him and isolate him politically.
He was a Christian man who believed in family values, tradition, localism, and a market economy.
He was also the greatest black president South Africa never had.
