Troops enter KwaZulu

ARMOURED vehicles full of South African troops in battle gear were seen moving into the self-governing homeland of KwaZulu yesterday, two days after King Goodwill Zwelithini demanded an independent state for the Zulu people, writes Karl Maier in Empangeni, KwaZulu.

The movement of South African Defence Force troops towards the KwaZulu capital, Ulundi, a week after the army moved into Bophuthatswana, indicates that President F W de Klerk is preparing to implement the unspecified 'contingency plans' which he has said would be needed to ensure free and fair voting in the area when South Africa holds its multi-racial elections next month.

Last Thursday the king called on the eight million Zulus to boycott the polls, saying: 'We here today proclaim . . . our freedom and sovereignty and our unwavering will to defend it at all costs.'