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.”

SABC News