Mcwayizeni Zulu | |
|---|---|
| Member of the National Assembly | |
| In office May 1994 – June 1999 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 March 1931 Nongoma, Natal Union of South Africa |
| Died | 7 September 1999 (aged 68) Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Political party | African National Congress |
Prince Mcwayizeni Israel Zulu (3 March 1931 – 7 September 1999) was a South African politician and senior prince of the Zulu royal family. A son of King Solomon kaDinizulu, he acted as Zulu regent during the interregnum of 1968 to 1971 and was a close advisor to King Goodwill Zwelithini. He is also known for having overtly aligned himself to the African National Congress (ANC) during the final years of apartheid.
Mcwayizeni's role in the royal house was fraught during the early decades of Zwelithini's reign after 1971, primarily because of Mcwayizeni's rivalry with Mangosuthu Buthelezi, his cousin and the ruler of the KwaZulu homeland during apartheid. Mcwayizeni questioned Buthelezi's claim to be the traditional prime minister to the Zulu nation, and he was increasingly sidelined by Buthelezi during the late 1970s and 1980s. In addition, in 1989, Mcwayizeni declared his support for the ANC, which at the time was locked in violent competition with Buthelezi's own Zulu nationalist party, Inkatha.
Mcwayizeni served on the ANC's National Executive Committee from 1991 to 1994 and, after the end of apartheid and dissolution of KwaZulu, he represented the ANC in the National Assembly from 1994 to 1999. He reconciled with Zwelithini in 1994 but remained in competition with Buthelezi until his death in September 1999.