JOHANNESBURG – Johannesburg residents did not only wake up to gloomy weather, they also woke up to the news of former President Nelson Mandela passing away.
President Zuma said, “He passed on peacefully in the company of his family around 20h50 on the 5th of December 2013.
“He is now resting. He is now at peace. Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father.”
After he was rushed to hospital on Saturday June 8, Mandela was later discharged, after spending a little under three months in hospital.
During his stay in hospital, news about is health had the nation and the world holding its breath as president Zuma cancelled his trip to Mozambique.
While addressing the nation from Union Buildings in Pretoria, Zuma said, “Our thoughts are with his wife Mrs Graca Machel, his former wife Ms Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, with his children, his grand-children, his great grand-children and the entire family.
“Our thoughts are with his friends, comrades and colleagues who fought alongside Madiba over the course of a lifetime of struggle.”
Madiba, as he was affectionately known became the first democratically elected president of South Africa in 1994.
During his inauguration Mandela said, “Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another.”
Today South Africa enjoys its democracy because of the sacrifice he and others made to fight against the injustice of the past.
President Zuma described this as “The moment of our deepest sorrow.” He continued to say, “Let us express, each in our own way, the deep gratitude we feel for a life spent in service of the people of this country and in the cause of humanity.”
