Mangosuthu Buthelezi, South Africa's Zulu hawk, dies aged 95

Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the once-feared Zulu nationalist and historic leader of Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) which was implicated in South Africa's deadliest violence ahead of the first all-race elections, died Saturday aged 95, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced.

"I am deeply saddened to announce the passing of Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Traditional Prime Minister to the Zulu Monarch and Nation, and the Founder and President Emeritus of the Inkatha Freedom Party," Ramaphosa said in a statement.

"Buthelezi has been an outstanding leader in the political and cultural life of our nation, including the ebbs and flows of our liberation struggle, the transition which secured our freedom in 1994 and our democratic dispensation," Ramaphosa said.

Details of his funeral, which would traditionally happen on a weekend, have not been announced.

"He quietly and painlessly stepped into eternity in the early hours of the morning" Buthelezi's family said in a statement.

"It will be hard for me to sleep at night in the next coming days" the Zulu monarch, Misuzulu Zulu, said during a televised speech at the annual "reed dance" ceremony in KwaZulu-Natal province.

"As you all know we worked together a lot until the very end, we got along well, I respected him," the king said.

Buthelezi, last week was discharged from hospital after a prolonged stay.

Born of royal blood on August 27, 1928, he was for years defined by his bitter rivalry with South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC), a party that was his political home until he broke away to form IFP in 1975 which he would lead until the age of 90.

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