EXTRACT
When KwaZulu-Natal premier Willies Mchunu was called to the stage, I expected a balanced, frank and honest analysis of Buthelezi and his role in the run-up to democracy and afterwards.
Mchunu, a former unionist and a veteran of the struggle, endured more at the hands of the apartheid forces and IFP-linked militia than many in the province.
But I realised he was also suffering from historical amnesia when he told us that Buthelezi was a man of peace, and that if he was not, "we wouldn't [be] here".
He went on to declare Buthelezi a father figure "to us", and claimed he had played a similar role even during the struggle.