The Sunday Independent on the 29 March 2015

Typical of a theatre it now resembles, the fifth Parliament has destroyed reputations, revamped others, while also introducing debutants into political life. What becomes of debutants remains to be seen. It is the performance of veteran MP, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, that has intrigued me.

The long career of the 89-year-old appears to be experiencing a revival. This is a conscious effort on Buthelezi’s part to remake his place in history, but the shambles that parliament is also aids his attempts at revising history.

Amid the parliamentary chaos Buthelezi has emerged as a calming voice. He has repeatedly stood up in defence of reason and civility. This is yet another interesting twist in our post-apartheid narrative.

Buthelezi has not always been synonymous with civility. This is an entirely new side, largely a post-1994 reinvention.