GERHARD MARE
GOODWILL Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, who has passed away at the age of 72, was the longest reigning of all Zulu kings on record. This was the 50th year of his incumbency. His reign spanned turbulent decades in South Africa.
He assumed the throne at the height of apartheid, and went on to rule through the country’s violent and turbulent decades, a period which included contestation of the role of the Zulu monarchy.
This spilled over into post-apartheid South Africa when the country’s new constitution recognised traditional leaders along with its democratically elected representatives.
Chapter 12 – a single page – of the 1996 constitution of the democratic Republic of South Africa recognises traditional leaders, laws and customs in general terms. Subsequently, through specific and continually contested legislation, attempts were made to concretise such authority, despite discriminatory consequences for millions of South African citizens who were made subjects of this
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