Former president Jacob Zuma earned high praise for his statesmanship from President Cyril Ramaphosa during his eulogy at the funeral of Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi on Saturday.

Ramaphosa was among thousands of mourners, politicians and dignitaries who descended on Prince Mangosuthu Stadium in Ulundi for the event.

The founder of the IFP died on September 9 at the age of 95.

Speaking about Buthelezi’s role in the lead-up to the 1994 democratic elections, Ramaphosa said Zuma and former president Thabo Mbeki, who was also present at the funeral, “played a key role in assuring that indeed our transition was a peaceful one”.

“I applaud them and we should recognise the very important role that these two leaders played at the time,” Ramaphosa said.

The president also referred to the scourge of pre-election violence that almost scuppered those elections, but rather than apportioning blame, he emphasised efforts made to ensure a peaceful transition to democracy.

“Today is not a day to point fingers and cast blame. History will in the end be the true arbiter. There were well-founded genuine fears that in such a [violent] climate the transition to democracy would not happen peacefully. Through serious engagement and negotiation, we were able to step back from the brink of turmoil,” Ramaphosa said.

He added that Buthelezi was never afraid to voice his opinion or tackle difficult problems:

“We did not always agree — we often found ourselves on opposing sides of one or other issue. He never shied away from a harsh word or criticism, or of voicing his dissent. I have always admired his commitment to finding common ground among political leaders and parties,” Ramaphosa said.