Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – 6 December 2013
Africa is bereaved
Madiba Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, Pan African hero, Former South African President is no more.
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, on behalf of the Commission and its staff, and indeed, on behalf of the Union and the rest of the continent, expressed her grief on the passing of a Pan African icon and Nobel Peace Laureate, President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.
Madiba, as he was fondly known, symbolises the spirit of Pan Africanism and solidarity in the struggles of humanity against apartheid, oppression and colonialism and for self-determination, peace and reconciliation.
Before his imprisonment in 1963 for twenty seven years, he visited countless African countries that without fail pledged and rendered unflinching support for the struggle of the South African people.
Mandela has fought a good fight, and bowed out with great reverence. His passing on is a great loss to his family, to our continent and indeed to humanity itself.
