Buthelezi thankful for support received over passing of wife
IFP leader, Mangosuthu Buthelezi has thanked everyone who offered him support after the death of his wife.
Princess Irene Thandekile died on Monday after a long illness. Various high profile people from several political parties have been visiting the Buthelezi home to offer their condolences.
His wife will be laid to rest on Friday after a funeral service in the Ulundi Stadium in KwaZulu-Natal.
Buthelezi says he felt helpless when his wife was sick.
He says she suffered from seizures and it came to a point where she could not even talk. The family would be surprised when she occasionally said something.
He says: “In the end her means of communication was to nod her head to acknowledge someone’s presence or in response to a conversation, that’s the life she was reduced to live by her illness.”
“I’m grateful on behalf of my wife because it was unbearable for me to see her in such a state especially when her seizures came and there was nothing I could do for her. It pained me to see her in such a state and it pained me deeply when her seizures started and there was nothing I could do for her. I even wished that I could bear some of the pain for her.