Johannesburg, Mar 18 (PTI) The late Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini was a champion of social cohesion, abhorred violence and its consequences, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday at the memorial service of the monarch who died last week.

Delivering the eulogy at the memorial service, Ramaphosa lauded the King as a champion of social cohesion and for upholding the cultures of all communities in the country despite the former white minority apartheid government trying to suppress it for decades.

“The King will be remembered for his role in bringing peace and stability to KwaZulu-Natal (province) during the difficult times our country went through,” Ramaphosa said during the memorial service held following the burial of the monarch at a secret place in the early hours of the morning by a few family members.

Zwelithini, who was the traditional leader of South Africa's Zulu nation, died on March 12 aged 72 after being hospitalised for more than a month over diabetes-related problems.

Zwelithini, the 8th Zulu king, reigned for more than 50 years, making him the longest-serving Zulu monarch.

Ramaphosa said the King was a man who believed that the pursuit of violence was ethically and morally wrong.

“As a leader, he preached peace and unity. He abhorred violence and its consequences. As the country moved towards democracy, he called for an end to political killings, travelling around the country meeting and encouraging people to resort to peaceful means of resolving conflict,” he said.

He was referring to the violence that claimed many lives across the country in the run-up to Nelson Mandela's installation as the first democratically elected President of South Africa in 1994.

“The significance of his long reign (of almost five decades) and his legacy is not lost on us. It was during his reign that the decades of dispossession – and the willful destruction of our knowledge and economic systems, culture and governance institutions – came to an end. He is celebrated across our beloved continent Africa because he valued diversity and respected the cultures of other kingdoms and nations," Ramaphosa said.

He said the king was a champion of development and progress, leading from the front in the fight against HIV, AIDS and TB.

“He was a great visionary and had deep insights on how best to develop our country and its people.

He encouraged young people to be safe from sexually transmitted diseases, from substance abuse and from premature parenthood,” he added.

The president also lauded Zwelithini for turning his home province into “a cultural jewel and a compelling tourism destination.”

“His Majesty was a bridge-builder between cultures. He appreciated the importance of unity and social cohesion. In recent years, he held Diwali Bayede celebrations at the Ondini royal palace to welcome members of the Hindu community,” he said.

He also had outreach activities with the Muslim community in the province and this went a long way towards bridging divides of race, culture and religion that had all too often fuelled hostilities in the province in the past, Ramaphosa said about the monarch's role in fostering harmony and reconciliation.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)