Riyaz Patel
Veteran politician Mangosuthu Buthelezi, now 90, has stepped down as leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), after 44 years at the helm.
The IFP is currently holding its elective conference in Ulundi, KwaZulu-Natal, and the long-serving leader used the occasion to reflect on his career, as well as an opportunity to send a message to future leaders.
Buthelezi, who has led the party since its inception in 1975, said the IFP started its transition in 2012 and that this moment “was planned a long time ago.”
He told delegates while giving welcoming remarks at the conference that his stepping down moment was “significant” but “far less sensational than many seem to think.”
Those in attendance in Ulundi said Buthelezi bowing out as IFP leader was an emotional moment.
“It weighs heavily on me that this will be my final speech as IFP President…. but somehow it doesn’t dampen my spirit. I am excited to hand over power to a new generation of leaders,” said Buthelezi who has played a pivotal role in pre-1994, as well as post-apartheid South African politics.
“The IFP is bigger than Buthelezi.“
OUTGOING IFP PRESIDENT MANGOSUTHU BUTHELEZI
“We have moved carefully and deliberately to this point, making public our decisions and the reasons for taking them. This moment was planned a long time ago. It is simply the last step in a very public journey,” said Buthelezi, who turns 91 next week.
Newly elected IFP president, Velenkosini Hlabisa, said his main priority is to unite the party. He called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to recognize Buthelezi’s contribution to the country’s politics.
“The story of the IFP is deeply intertwined with my own story; the story of Buthelezi. I have served this party for 44 years, since its founding in 1975. Yet I have never served alone. This party is bigger than Buthelezi. It has a future beyond my own.”
Buthelezi maintained that the IFP still has a lot to contribute to South Africa’s political discourse, with his party the fourth largest in the country, having secured 14 seats in the National Assembly.
“In this new generation, our struggle is different. But our values remain the same. It is this that makes the IFP a wellspring of hope, providing water to a nation thirsty,” he said in his swan-song address to IFP members.
Buthelezi said one of his biggest concerns remains the unfulfilled reconciliatory efforts between the IFP and the ANC.
“Despite the negative propaganda that I have faced throughout my leadership of the IFP, I leave a positive footprint. My time as IFP leader is now finished,” said Buthelezi, bringing down the curtain of his final speech as IFP president.
