JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini has died after a month in hospital, it was announced on Friday.
He was 72.
Inkatha Freedom Party MP and traditional prime minister of the Zulu nation Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi said King Zwelithini had died in the early hours of Friday.
In February, he announced that the King had been hospitalised in the intensive care unit of a private hospital due to “unstable glucose levels.” The King was a known diabetic.
Buthelezi said in a brief statement on Friday: “It is with utmost grief that I inform the nation of the passing of His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini Kabhekuzulu, King of the Zulu nation.
“Tragically, while still in hospital, His Majesty’s health took a turn for the worse and he subsequently passed on in the early hours of this morning.”
