South Africans mourn anti-apartheid veteran
Source: Agencies |
June 12, 2011, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
NELSON Mandela called Albertina Sisulu "one of the greatest South Africans" as the nation mourned a woman celebrated for her role in the fight against apartheid, and for her nurturing of a new generation of leaders.
Sisulu collapsed and died at her Johannesburg home on June 2 at the age of 92.
Mandela's message, read by his wife Graca Machel during yesterday's funeral at a Soweto soccer stadium, set off a brief rally of singing and dancing in his honor that interrupted an occasion that was both mournful and celebratory. Mandela's poignant message listed several friends and colleagues he has lost in recent years. He said he felt Sisulu's loss especially deeply.
"I would have loved to be here today to pay my personal respects but it would be too painful for me to see you go," said Mandela, who at 92 rarely makes public appearances. The Mandela family yesterday was marking the first anniversary of the death of Mandela's 13-year-old great-granddaughter Zenani, killed in a car crash on the way home from a soccer World Cup evening concert in Soweto.
The service followed a week of national mourning during which flags were flown at half staff across South Africa and at its foreign missions.
Officials of the governing African National Congress fanned out to every province to lead a series of memorial services. President Jacob Zuma declared an official funeral with military honors.
Sisulu collapsed and died at her Johannesburg home on June 2 at the age of 92.
Mandela's message, read by his wife Graca Machel during yesterday's funeral at a Soweto soccer stadium, set off a brief rally of singing and dancing in his honor that interrupted an occasion that was both mournful and celebratory. Mandela's poignant message listed several friends and colleagues he has lost in recent years. He said he felt Sisulu's loss especially deeply.
"I would have loved to be here today to pay my personal respects but it would be too painful for me to see you go," said Mandela, who at 92 rarely makes public appearances. The Mandela family yesterday was marking the first anniversary of the death of Mandela's 13-year-old great-granddaughter Zenani, killed in a car crash on the way home from a soccer World Cup evening concert in Soweto.
The service followed a week of national mourning during which flags were flown at half staff across South Africa and at its foreign missions.
Officials of the governing African National Congress fanned out to every province to lead a series of memorial services. President Jacob Zuma declared an official funeral with military honors.
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