There were no laps around the stadium for the benefit of the adoring crowd, but when Mangosuthu Buthelezi stepped out of the silver BMW X6 that drove him onto the pitch, the sea of white T-shirts bearing his face cheered loudly anyway.
Of course, this statesman of South African politics has a legacy more complex than a mere freedom fighter. Unlike the ANC, with which it was close at its inception as a cultural organisation, the IFP did not support the armed struggle.
The IFP almost didn’t make it this far, because in 1994 they were on course to boycott the election, demanding autonomy for the Zulu king, greater provincial powers and provincial ballots. It decided at the last minute to take part when it became clear that its most radical demands would not be met. A sticker with the IFP’s name was pasted at the bottom of the ballot paper just days before the April 27 elections.
Those who were at the rally in Soweto thought Buthelezi’s age counted in his favour. Twenty-two-year-old Nondumiso Duma, a student from Jeppestown and member of the IFP Youth Brigade, said: “He is an old leader, yes, but he knows everything that happened in the past, and he informs us, as we are the youth.”
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