Inkatha Freedom Party

South African political party, representing the nationalist aspirations of the country's largest ethnic group, the Zulus. It was founded as a paramilitary organization in 1975 by its present leader, Chief Gatsha Buthelezi, with the avowed aim of creating a non-racial democratic political situation. The party entered South Africa's first multiracial elections in April 1994, after an initial violent boycott, and emerged with 10% of the popular vote.

Inkatha initially tried to work with the white regime and, as a result, Buthelezi was widely regarded as a collaborator. Revelations, in 1991 and 1994, that Inkatha had received covert financial aid from the South African government and support from the security services increased African National Congress (ANC) distrust of Inkatha's motives, while Inkatha itself resented the dominant role played by the ANC in constitutional negotiations. Hundreds of lives were lost in fighting between Inkatha and ANC supporters during the early 1990s.