The death of the Zulu monarch, who came to the throne as the eighth king of the Zulu nation in December 1971 at the age of 21, was announced in a short statement by Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
Buthelezi, who expressed his ‘utmost grief’, said Zwelithini died in the early hours yesterday after his health ‘took a turn for the worse’.
He was being treated in hospital for problems associated with his blood sugar levels.
During most of Zwelithini’s reign, Buthelezi, his cousin and founder of the Inkatha Freedom Party, was the Zulu prime minister. When it was rumoured that Zwelithini intended to replace Buthelezi as prime minister a rift developed between them that took many years to heal.
Zwelithini revived several Zulu cultural practices aimed at promoting moral regeneration, and addressing social issues such as gender-based violence and the spread of HIV and Aids.
The annual reed dance was criticised by those who view virginity testing as a violation of human rights.
The king was also chairman of the Ingonyama Trust, established in the dying days of apartheid to administer the land traditionally owned by the Zulu people. Some 32% of KwaZulu/Natal is Trust land.
In recent years Zwelithini has been embroiled in allegations concerning the administration and transparency of the Trust, and the violation of rural citizens’ constitutional rights.
A case is pending on how the Trust can legally deal with the land held in trust for rural residents who mostly have unregistered and vulnerable customary ownership rights.
The king has fiercely defended the monarchical hold on the land, saying: ‘I want you to know that the land belongs to the current reigning King of AmaZulu. The land will not be taken from us.’
Zwelithini had six wives and at least 28 children.
[Image: Reinhardt Hartzenberg, , https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27054942]