Dignitaries pay tribute to O.R Tambo
This year marks 21 years since Oliver Tambo's passing and, in commemoration, a wreath-laying ceremony was held at the Tamboville Cemetery on Monday, October 27.
The ceremony was attended by various dignitaries, including former President of Malawi Dr Joyce Banda, and delegates from Lusaka, Zambia and Botswana.
Cyril Ramaphosa, Deputy President of South Africa, and David Makhura (Gauteng Premier) joined Modli Gungubele (Ekurhuleni mayor) and the Tambo family to honour his passing.
Ramaphosa described Tambo as a man who loved his family and a giant who saw himself as nothing but a servant.
“Oliver and Adelaide are legends of the liberation struggle, we should remember what they stood for,” he said.
“South Africa would not have been where we are today if it was not for them, they were the type of people who lived lives to advance other people’s lives.”
Later in the evening an OR Tambo lecture was delivered by former Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.
He also spoke of Tambo’s legacy and the importance of his name being remembered in history.
“A statesman, revolutionary, legal mind and deeply religious being, he exercised consummate leadership during the historical period in South Africa,” said Motlanthe.
He added that Tambo’s name will echo through the passage of time as one of the 20th century exemplars of civilising humanism, along with those who came before and after him.
