GOODWILL Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, who has died at the age of 72, was the longest-reigning of all Zulu kings on record. This was the 50th year of his incumbency. GERHARD MARÉ, Emeritus Professor of Political Sociology, University of KwaZulu-Natal His reign spanned turbulent decades in South Africa. He assumed the throne at the height of apartheid and went on to rule through the country’s violent and turbulent decades, a period which included contestation of the role of the Zulu monarchy. This spilled over into post-apartheid South Africa when the country’s new constitution recognised traditional leaders along with its democratically elected representatives.…