Buthelezi to be laid to rest

ULUNDI - Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi is being laid to rest on Saturday.

Thousands are expected to pay tribute to the founder of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), who died a week ago aged 95.

Several hundred people gathered on Friday to accompany Buthelezi's body to the family homestead before the funeral.

Men in traditional Zulu warrior attire chanted and danced, stomping their feet as they waited for hours in the scorching sun.

Carrying shields and spears and dressed in leopard skins, some wore crowns bearing Buthelezi's portrait.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has ordered flags to be flown at half mast across the country, will deliver a eulogy at the funeral.

"Buthelezi has been an outstanding leader in the political and cultural life of our nation, including the ebbs and flows of our liberation struggle," Ramaphosa said, announcing the Zulu nationalist's death last Saturday.