South Africa's leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) Mangosuthu Buthelezi speaks to supporters ahead of the national elections, in Richards Bay, north of Durban, in South Africa, April 19, 2009.
REUTERS/Rogan Ward/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsULUNDI, South Africa, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Thousands of mourners gathered in eastern South Africa on Saturday for the state funeral of Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
The veteran South African politician, Zulu prince and controversial figure during the apartheid liberation struggle, died last week aged 95.
South African media reported that two giraffes and six impalas had been slaughtered and skinned as part of the ritual preparations.
Like the ANC, he was critical of white minority rule, which had relegated Zulus and other Black South Africans to downsized 'homelands'.
Persons:
Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Rogan Ward, Mangosuthu, Buthelezi, Nelson Mandela, Siyabonga Sishi, Tim Cocks, Mike Harrison
Organizations:
Freedom Party, IFP, REUTERS, South, Home Affairs, African National Congress, ANC, Thomson
Locations:
Richards Bay, Durban, South Africa, Ulundi, KwaZulu, Natal, Xhosa, South Africa's