Madam Deputy Speaker, it is a privilege to pay tribute to my dear first cousin and friend, His Royal Highness Prince Nhlahla Zulu. To me he was a constant source of encouragement and wise counsel, a fund of shrewd and honest advice. His loss will be felt by his loved ones, his party, this House and beyond. The prince possessed an easygoing charm and warmth. He was always courteous and courtly to all he met and was proof that being a gentleman was not somehow associated with being old-fashioned. He was in fact very much a man of our time who relished progress and the beauty of tradition in equal measure. The prince led an extraordinary life which spanned the best part of the last century and nearly the first decade of this one.
Our grandfather King Dinizulu had no less than 60 queens, and hence several homesteads. I must explain, Deputy Speaker, that there was a chuckle. In fact, it was not because of lust. In Zulu culture there is a "baleka" custom, and all the lawyers in the House will know that if a girl fancied you, she would pay you a betrothal visit without you even saying a word to her. This is how some of these wives were collected.
The king had several daughters and sons. His first daughter, Princess Phikisile Harriet married Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme, the founder of the African National Congress. Doctor Seme discussed with King Dinizulu the idea of the king becoming one of the patrons of the ANC along with other African kings. He died before this proposal was finalised.
King Dinizulu had several royal homesteads. One of them was the homestead of Ezinhlendleni. One of his wives, Oka Hlokolo Ndwandwe, bore him only sons. One of his sons was Prince Nojombo. He was Prince Nhlahla's father. My uncle Prince Nojombo died when Prince Nhlahla was very young. Prince Nhlahla's mother, Princess Triphina Oka Manqele, struggled to give my cousin some education. After he had passed his junior certificate, he continued to study to improve himself. He qualified as a laboratory technician and went to work for the SA Paper and Pulp Industry or Sappi in Mandini in 1967.
It was during this time that I first met my cousin. It did not take me long to see that he was a patriot whose heart burned like mine concerning the sacrifices that our forebears, such as King Mpande, King Cetshwayo and King Dinizulu, suffered. He, Prince Gideon ka Mnyayiza and I soon became a trio because of our convictions. We all felt that apartheid had to be defeated by all possible means. It was not surprising then, when I visited Zambia to thank President Kenneth Kaunda for giving sanctuary to our exiles and later President Julius Nyerere, that I was inspired to found Inkatha ye Nkululeko ye Sizwe, Tokologo ya Set?haba [the National Cultural Liberation Movement].
Bishop Alphaeus Zulu reinforced what President Kaunda said to me when I visited the United National Independence Party headquarters in Lusaka during my visit. Doctor Kaunda had impressed upon me the need to start a membership-based organisation so that in our internal resistance against grand apartheid we could present ourselves as a cohesive force. The only person who had to be consulted was the leader of the ANC in exile, Mr Oliver Tambo. After he had approved, I then formed Inkatha. Prince Nhlahla and Prince Gideon were the first in the royal house to join me in 1975.
Prince Nhlahla became a highly respected member of our Central Committee before it became the National Council, which he was a member of until his passing. He was a respected voice in the councils of my party and we had no hesitation in asking him to join those of us who came to Parliament as representatives of our party in 1994.
He was a remarkable person of great depth whose every word was spoken only after a lot of thought and with clarity. He was a man of great wisdom whose opinions we all valued in the party. He was not garrulous, yet when he expressed his opinion on any issue, all listened. He was a model of modesty. He would never flaunt his royal lineage. He was a gentleman who was loved and respected across party lines.
Yesterday, when I spoke to His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini ka Bhekuzulu, the nephew of Prince Nhlahla, he lamented the fact that the prince's wisdom would no longer be available to him and the rest of us as a family. In the royal family, he was a rare breed. He was a humble scion of Zulu kings whose life mission was to serve his people, the Zulu nation and the people of South Africa.
We thank God for having lent us the gift of this royal prince. He believed strongly that his mission would not be accomplished as long as his people were trapped in poverty, living with high unemployment, when corruption still persisted and so many suffered from HIV and Aids in our province of KwaZulu-Natal, which has the highest prevalence rate in the country. We feel that he has made his own unique contribution and he has completed his mission in serving our people in the highest council of state, Parliament. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his beloved wives, Princess Jabulisile and Princess Eugenia, his family, the royal house, members of his party and his colleagues across all parties in Parliament.