The African National Congress (ANC) and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leadership urged their supporters on November 14 to preserve the peace they had yearned for so long.

They made the call while attending the funeral of slain ANC councillor and KwaZulu-Natal royal family member Prince Cyril Zulu, which took place in Nongoma in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, an IFP stronghold, but his coffin was draped with the ANC's green, gold and black flag, according to the South African Press Association.

IFP and ANC dignitaries, including former President Nelson Mandela and Public Enterprises Minister Jeff Radebe, attended the funeral.

Both parties have lost thousands of supporters in political violence lasting more than a decade in KwaZulu-Natal because of rivalry between the two parties.

The leadership of both parties signed a peace pact just before the June 2 election, in which they committed themselves to ensuring a peaceful co- existence among their supporters.

This agreement has been tested on many occasions, highlighted most recently by the fatal attack on Zulu in Lamontville at the beginning of this month, which sparked claims that his death was a political assassination.

Both parties' leadership, speaking at the Sunday funeral, reiterated the importance of not pointing fingers until the law took its course.