After becoming disillusioned with the African National Congress (ANC) under apartheid, he founded the Zulu Inkatha party.

In the early 1990s, thousands of people were killed in clashes between supporters of the two parties.

As Nelson Mandela’s minister of home affairs, he was later welcomed back into the fold.

As leader of an ethnic-Zulu homeland, Chief Buthelezi trod a moderate path and disagreed with the ANC’s tactics of armed struggle against white minority rule.

According to him, international sanctions would only harm South Africa’s black majority. Mandela’s ANC accused him of collaborating with the white-minority government during the early 1990s clashes.

As a result of the violence, some feared a civil war could develop and derail Mandela’s transition to democracy.

Buthelezi always denied that apartheid security forces were working with the Inkatha movement to fight the ANC.

Ramaphosa described Chief Buthelezi as a “formidable leader” during tributes.

“I have played a significant role in the history of our country for seven decades,” he said.

In his remarks, the president said: “Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi has played a critical role in our nation’s political and cultural life, including the ebbs and flows of our liberation struggle, the transition to freedom in 1994, and our democratic dispensation.”