Cape Town - The chairperson of the National Assembly committee on agriculture, rural development and land reform, Mandla Mandela, has paid tribute to King Goodwill Zwelithini, who died on Friday morning.
Mandela, the chief of Mvezo and grandson of former president Nelson Mandela, said: “We are deeply saddened and pained at the untimely passing of His Majesty, when the whole country and the world are under strain due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We have lost not just a leader, but the monarch of the Zulu kingdom.”
He said the committee sent its condolences to the king’s family and Zulu nation.
“We join the Zulu nation in mourning the passing of the king,” said Mandela.
In a statement, President Cyril Ramaphosa said he was deeply saddened by the news of the king’s death, which came “at a time when we had all been hopeful that His Majesty was recovering well in hospital”.
“His Majesty will be remembered as a much-loved, visionary monarch who made an important contribution to cultural identity, national unity and economic development in KwaZulu-Natal and through this, to the development of our country as a whole,” the president said.
Tributes for the king also came in from other prominent South Africans and politicians, including UDM leader Bantu Holomisa, IFP leader Velenkosini Hlabisa and DA leader John Steenhuisen.