As the nation continues to mourn the death of Zindziswa Mandela, the Executive Mayor, Geoffrey Makhubo has paid his own tribute, describing the late Ambassador to Denmark as a fearless and brave fighter for liberation.
Mandela died in a Johannesburg hospital in the early hours of Monday, 13 July. She was 59. She was posted to Denmark in 2015 and was assigned to become South Africa’s head of mission in Monrovia, Liberia at the time of her death.
Makhubo says the City is indebted to Zinzi for bearing the scars of the fight for freedom.
Zinzi, as she was affectionately known, was the last-born daughter of the late former President Nelson Mandela and the late Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, anti-apartheid icons who devoted their lives in service of humanity. Zindzi and her siblings were robbed of a father at an early age as Madiba was imprisoned for 27 years, says Makhubo.
In 1985, then aged 25, the young Mandela made history by reading her father’s famous refusal to accept the offer of conditional release from the apartheid government.
“Zindzi’s passing also comes at a time when South Africa and the world celebrates Mandela Month, a time to recognise Madiba’s contribution to global peace and freedom,” notes the Mayor.
He says Zindzi’s legacy will remain for future South Africans to recognise her contribution to the country’s freedom. “The role she played alongside her parents in the liberation of this country shall not be forgotten as she bears the scars of the fight for freedom,” he explains.
Makhubo says Zindzi dedicated her life to the cause of the people and in her adult life also represented South Africa on international stages.
“It is unfortunate that we have to say farewell during a time when we are not allowed to gather in numbers and say our last goodbyes. Our thoughts are with the Mandela family, friends and colleagues and the entire Johannesburg residents. May her soul rest in peace,” says Makhubo.
In a posted Tweet, President Cyril Ramaphosa says as a fearless political activist, Zindzi 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,” says Ramaphosa.
