South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday condoled the family of the late daughter of Nelson Mandela, Zindzi, who died at a Johannesburg hospital.
Ramaphosa described the late diplomat as “a fearless political activist who was a leader in her own right.”
“Our sadness is compounded by this loss being visited upon us just days before the world marks the birthday of the great Nelson Mandela,” Ramaphosa said.
Nelson Mandela was born on 18 July 1918 and died on 5 December 2013.
Ramaphosa said Zindzi Mandela, who died on Monday, was a household name nationally and internationally, “who, during our years of struggle, brought home the inhumanity of the apartheid system and the unshakeable resolve of our fight for freedom.”
“After our liberation, she became an icon of the task we began of transforming our society and stepping into spaces and opportunities that had been denied to generations of South Africans.
“Her spirit joins Tata Madiba and Mama Winnie in a reunion of leaders to whom we owe our freedom.”
Raised in Soweto and educated in South Africa and in Swaziland, Zindzi Mandela spent many years involved in the liberation struggle and embraced roles in the arts, philanthropy, and business.
In her political career, she served as Deputy President of the Soweto Youth Congress, was a member of the Release Mandela Campaign, and was an underground operative of Umkhonto weSizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress whose first head was a youthful Nelson Mandela.
The opposition Economic Freedom Fighters tweeted that it was saddened by the “passing of fearless and uncompromising Zindziswa Mandela.”
“We send our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and colleagues.”
NM/jn/APA