Mourning princes

WORDS cannot express the depth of pain we feel as we grieve the unexpected loss of Prince Mthokozisi and Prince Sipho. Their lives were taken without warning in a car accident as they travelled to KwaDukuza to honour the founder of the Zulu nation, King Shaka kaSenzangakhona, and to honour His Majesty our King.

Their death comes as a terrible shock. We are left devastated by this tragedy. But as much as we ourselves feel the grief of loss, our greatest pain is for the royal family, and for His Majesty our King, whose grief eclipses our own. We pray that the Lord will heal this wound to the heart of our nation.

Our thoughts are with the families of these young princes. It is difficult to imagine the absence of Prince Mthokozisi at the functions of His Majesty our King, for he so often directed the programme when we gathered. We will feel his absence keenly in the days to come, even as we do today.

The absence of Prince Sipho will feel equally strange, for he has always honoured our King. Coming from the Ntembeni royal family, Prince Sipho was a descendent of Prince Sitheku, the son of King Mpande.

Surely it would cast a burden too heavy to bear on the shoulders of our king if we were to ask him to speak on behalf of our nation, to express our sorrow in this terrible hour. As a humble servant of my king, I therefore shoulder this burden. Out of respect for his anguish, I dare to speak on behalf of our nation to express our condolences.

We have suffered an unspeakable loss.

Even as we grieve, we offer up prayers for the two who find themselves in hospital in a critical condition.

May their lives be spared and their healing be swift.

Indeed, may healing come to us all as we face this great tragedy. Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi MP Inkosi of the Buthelezi clan and traditional prime minister to the Zulu monarch and nation