Today we are in mourning for a Prince by birth and, in a special way, a Prince of men by his nobility of bearing. 

It is my privilege to pay tribute to Prince Nhlanhla who slipped the coil of this temporal life to be reunited with our ancestors just over one week ago. The Prince’s passing has left an aching void in our nation’s life which will never be assuaged. The passage of time shall never wither his memory nor erode his legacy. 

To me he was a constant source of encouragement and wise counsel; a fund of shrewd and honest advice. The Prince possessed an easy going charm.

Everyone who met Prince Nhlanhla will never forget his graceful face which was always full of compassion and warmth. The milk of human kindness truly spilled over in this man. 

He was always courteous - and courtly - to all he met and was proof that being a gentleman was not, somehow, old fashioned. He was, in fact, very much a man of our time who relished progress and the beauty of tradition in equal measure. The Prince led an extraordinary life which spanned the best part of the last century and nearly the first decade of this one. 

He was a humble scion of Zulu Kings whose life’s purpose was solely to serve his people, the Zulu nation, and the people of South Africa. He was spurred on by an almost biblical conviction that his life work would not be complete until the people he served were free from poverty, disease, unemployment, corruption and HIV/Aids. These ills continue to blight our communities. 

The party I lead, the Inkatha Freedom Party, has also lost one of our finest stalwarts. The Prince had a solid work ethic. He was an exemplary Member of Parliament who served with diligence and distinction on the Labour Portfolio Committee and many others. I, personally, had first hand experience of his parliamentary skills when he served on the Home Affairs Portfolio Committee when I was the Minister of Home Affairs. 

I would like to place, if I may, Prince Nhlanhla’s life within the ebb and flow of our nation’s history. 

Our grandfather King Dinuzulu had no less than sixty Queens and, hence, several homesteads. The King had several daughters and sons. King Dinuzulu had several Royal Homesteads. One of them was the homestead of Ezinhlendleni. One of his wives, Okahlokolo Ndwandwe bore sons. One of these sons was Prince Nojombo. He was Prince Nhlanhla's father. My uncle, Prince Nojombo, died when Prince Nhlanhla was very young. Prince Nhanhla's mother, Princess Tryphinah (Okamanqele), struggled to give my cousin some education. 

After he passed his Junior Certificate, he continued to study to improve himself. He qualified as a Laboratory Technician and went to work for the South African Paper and Pulp Industries (SAPPI) in Mandeni in 1967. 

It was during this time that I first met the Prince. It did not take me long to discover that he was a patriot whose heart burned like mine concerning the sacrifices that our forbearers suffered such as King Mpande, King Cetshwayo and King Dinuzulu. He, Prince Gideon Mnyayiza and I, soon became a trio because of the certainty of our convictions. I could never have asked for two fairer friends and men of valour than these two Princes. I would like to mention something about the character of my late cousin, Prince Nhlanhla ka Nonjombo ka Dinuzulu. 

Some years ago, His Majesty the King called together members of the Zulu Royal House. He told the gathered members that he felt he and members of the Zulu Royal House should arrange a function at which he, the King, and members of the Zulu Royal House would express their gratitude to me for what, he said, I had done for the King, the Royal Family and the institution of the Monarchy and the Zulu Nation. This was around 1993 or 1994. Everyone present agreed with the King. In other words, a decision was taken to hold such a function. Nothing, however, happened for several years. 

Members of the Royal House were concerned that the undertaking to honour me was not being carried out. Of all members, none were more concerned about this, which he saw as reneging on an undertaking, than Prince Nhanhla. He went to see His Majesty the King and consulted other members of the Royal House in vain for years. 

There was no longer the same enthusiasm that was shown by everyone when the idea was first mooted by His Majesty the King before 1994. The Prince of Ezinhlendleni demonstrated the patience of Job. He persisted.

His persistence gained him much opprobrium. The painful accusation flung at him was that it was not surprising that he was persistent that I should be honoured by the King and the Royal House because, it was claimed, what can be expected since he was a Member of Parliament representing my party, Inkatha, and was my supporter and loyal follower.

He was not deterred by these words of denigration. He persevered until His Majesty finally agreed that this had to be done. This was now 2004, ten years later. 

A date was fixed. His Majesty and the Royal Family were joined by our Mayor of Zululand Municipal District, Ms Zanele Magwaza-Msibi, and members of the Buthelezi Traditional Authority to honour me on that day.

A special decoration was placed around my neck by His Majesty the King called “Umthunzi ka Zulu”. This was a second decoration I had received from the hands of our present King. The previous one was “the King’s Cross”, which the King had bestowed on me at the recommendation of the then KwaZulu cabinet. 

I have, as you are aware, received quite a number of honours in my lifetime. Among others, I have received the Knight Commander star of Africa bestowed on me by the late President Tolbert of Liberia, the National Order of Merit by President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing of France, and the George Meany Human Rights Award from the largest trade union in the world, the AFL-CIO of the United States and many others. 

Yet, the most precious symbol of recognition to me was the “Umthunzi ka Zulu” award which Prince Nhlanhla suffered so much opprobrium in insisting that it be bestowed on me after the King and the Royal Family has decided that it should be done. The Prince simply loved his nephew, the King too much, and did not want the current members of the Royal Family to be described in history books as a bunch of liars who made undertakings which they later dishonoured. 

I cannot help but compare Prince Nhlanhla to our uncle, Prince Gideon ka Mnyayiza. They both paid a high price for supporting me in the task which God placed before me to carry out for His Majesty, the Monarchy, the Royal family, the Zulu nation and the people of South Africa. 

I am not saying that the two Princes are the only two members of the Royal House who supported me and my work. There are many others too numerous to mention here. To all of them, I thank them too, just as I thank Prince Nhlanhla today. I know that they do so often at a great price to themselves and their families. 

To me, they evoke the spirit of our illustrious forbearers such as Prince Ndabuko ka Mpande, the Prince of Kwaminya and Prince Shingana ka Mpande of Onkweni who were both exiled with their nephew, our grandfather, the King of Osuthu, King Dinuzulu. To me these scions of this great Royal House remind me of Prince Dabulamanzi ka Mpande of Ezulwini who was prepared to lay his life down for King and Country. 

Today we hear a lot of opprobrium directed to some to the members of the Royal House who have supported me and the nation in all that I have tried to do for King and Country. 

It is not just recently that I have started to serve the monarch. I served King Cyprian Bhekuzulu Nyangayezizwe ka Solomon ka Dinuzulu in the same way during his lifetime. Queen Mavis Indlunkulu Ma-Zungu can testify to this. Many honest people within the Zulu Royal House know this as much as Queen Mazungu, the widow of my first cousin, the King of Khethomthandayo. 

The Zulu nation knows this as well. Nor is it true that members of the Royal House who have nothing against me are of this attitude because they believe that I lead. It is well known that King Mpande bestowed the honour on my great grandfather Mnyamana Buthelezi to be “the Father of my children”. 

I have mentioned before, and will do so again today, that I remember at a meeting at KwaDhlamahlahla Royal Palace in 1954 when we were making preparations for the unveiling of King Shaka’s tombstone, the King of Khethomthandayo instructed me to chair the meeting.  A suggestion was made by the King that we should have a break and resume the meeting later. 

Knowing that there were all kinds of delectable goodies that were available at the King’s Palace, some of which I knew would cause some to derail our discussions, I resisted. I implored the King that we should rather finish our business first and relax later. 

I remember the King, who as you know was four year’s older than me, saying loudly: “Hawu safa baba” which means “we are dying father”.  This was in the sense that our ancestor, Mnyamana, was given the responsibility of being the father to my ancestor King Mpande. Many of my uncles, such as Prince Khishwasiphakanyiswa ka Dinuzulu, famously known as Prince Cisho or Prince Mkhahleli, now and then referred to me as “Baba” in the sense of what King Mpande represented. Prince Ndesheni ka Mnyanza often referred to me as “Baba”.  These were my uncles and I was their nephew. 

 I would like to disabuse those people who conclude wrongly that when any of the descendents of King Mpande are well disposed towards me that they are so because they have anything to do with the Inkatha Freedom Party. 

I know that after this funeral that I will be talked of tomorrow, as I am, whenever I talk as frankly as I do. This is, unfortunately, how God made me. I am always blamed for saying things as they and for calling a spade a spade. Let me explain why I do it. We are all pilgrims in this life. We all come and go. The Prince’s I have spoken of did not die because they were fools. It was the appointed time when God’s trumpet sounded calling them home. I do not know when it will sound for me. I do not know if I will ever get another opportunity to thank these great sons of our Zulu Kings. 

I feel that I am doing so on the right occasion when I am paying tribute to this great descendent of Zulu Kings whom we are gathered here to bury today.  As the poet John Donne famously puts it, “Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee”. 

The two Princes, the Prince of Kwaminya, Prince Gideon, and the Prince of Ezinhlendleni, Prince Nhlanhla, had the same misfortunes that I myself experienced. 

The Prince of Kwaminya buried two of his sons in his lifetime. The Prince of Ezinhlendleni also buried four of his sons, the last one only two years ago. As everyone knows, I have also buried three of my children in my lifetime. As Believers, we were comforted by some of the words of the Apostle St Paul in his letter to the Romans, Chapter 8 v 16-18: 

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 

17 and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together 

18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 

I pray that the Lord would comfort the Prince’s family, His Majesty the King, members of the Royal Family and all the bereaved, the families of the two Princesses, his wives, the Zulu people who respected this descendent of Zulu Kings,  members of my Party, such as his colleagues across the parties in Parliament, particularly Mr Ben Skosana MP and Mr VB Ndlovu MP, many others in the National Assembly, Members of the National Council of the IFP who served alongside the Prince, and, of course, the general membership of the party. Nor can we fail to mention the people of Mandeni with whom the Prince lived and worked for so many years. He will be dreadfully missed by so many. 

I must also express my gratitude to the Deputy-Speaker of Parliament for making it possible for members of parliament to be present here today.

One must also acknowledge Mr Velaphi Ndlovu for working so hard with making these arrangements. 

As we bid the Prince farewell, and until we meet again in the New Jerusalem, we proclaim, “well done good and faithful servant”.