INKATHA NOUN (POLITICS)

A Black political organization in South Africa, originally formed as a cultural organization in 1928 and revived as a Black liberation movement in 1975 under the Zulu Chief Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi. Etymology: From the Zulu word inkatha, a sacred head-ring and tribal emblem which is believed to ensure solidarity and loyalty in the tribe. The name is intended to symbolize cultural unity. History and Usage: Since its revival in 1975 as a Black national movement in South Africa, Inkatha has been open to all Blacks, although its following remains predominantly Zulu. It has featured increasingly in the news outside South Africa during the late eighties and early nineties, especially in relation to fighting among rival liberation movements there. Fighting in Natal between sympathisers of the UDF and its ally, the Congress of South African Trade Unions, and Inkatha loyalists has cost more than 1,000 lives in the past three years, and is inimical to black unity. Guardian 17 Aug. 1989, p. 10 Local supporters of the ANC have been almost unanimous in calling for more rather than fewer troops as the local police force is seen as being biased in favour of the ANC's opponents, the Zulu Inkatha movement headed by Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi. Financial Times 3 Apr. 1990, p. 22