The leading South African opposition politician Mangosuthu Buthelezi announced over the weekend that his son had died of AIDS.
The leader of the Zulu-based Inkatha Freedom party spoke at the funeral of his son, Prince Nelisuzulu Benedict Buthelezi, 53, who died last Wednesday. After a tribute to his "son of Africa," Buthelezi said: "I reach out to all the people whose family members have died of AIDS. My son did."
Buthelezi's admission before thousands of mourners, including political and community leaders, was a typically forthright stand by the politician who has been critical of South African President Thabo Mbeki's quiet policy towards AIDS.
But it will surprise many South Africans who are unused to their leaders speaking publicly about a disease that infects an estimated 5 million people in the country.
Buthelezi has frequently criticized Mbeki's reluctance to accept the full magnitude of the AIDS crisis and offer treatment to sufferers.
"I come here moved by the pain of a father who has lost his beloved son," Buthelezi said at the funeral. "I feel the pain of any father and mother across our land at this tragic hour of history.
I feel the pain for the many children of Africa who are now dying an untimely and terrible death. I am in mourning.
"We are a nation which ought to be in mourning. So many people have died or will need to follow them. As I feel the pain of the death of my own son, I hear the cries and laments of South Africa."
Buthelezi spoke days after he was axed from Mbeki's cabinet and his Inkatha party ended its 10-year alliance with the ruling African National Congress (ANC). His speech signalled that he intends to remain an outspoken figure.
A close aide to Buthelezi said on Sunday that the Zulu leader was "free for the first time in his life ... because he was always beholden to the ANC presidency, and before that to the homeland system of apartheid".
The 75-year-old is one of the great survivors of politics. He was described by one observer as being "capable of switching between unbridled charm and ruthless bellicosity."
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