Johannesburg (South Africa), December 7, 2013 (SPS) - Nelson Mandela, the hero of antiapartheid struggle, died Thursday at 95 at his home in Johannesburg, South Africa. The world's leaders have unanimously paid tribute to the courage, determination and the wisdom of the late South African leader.
Born on 18 July 1918, Rolihlahla Mandela, called affectionately called Madiba, devote all his life to the struggle for a multiracial South Africa, a Rainbow nation, as dreamt of by most of South Africans.
Nelson Mandela "has departed," said South Africa's President Jacob Zum before paying tribute to the former South African president "our beloved Madiba will have a state funeral," he added, announcing that flags will be flown at half mast from Friday till the funeral.
"Our people have lost a father," said Zuma, adding that "although we knew this day was going to come, nothing can diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss."
"His tireless struggle for freedom earned him the respect of the world," he said.
The African Union also paid tribute to the memory of the Pan-African hero, who symbolizes the spirit of solidarity against colonialism.
"Madiba, as affectionately named, symbolizes the sprit of solidarity in the struggles against apartheid, oppression and colonialism for self-determination, peace and reconciliation," said Chairperson of African Union Commission Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in a statement.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also expressed his profound sadness at the passing of Nelson Mandela, paying tribute to the tireless human rights activist, prisoner of conscience, international peacemaker and the first democratically-elected president of post-apartheid South Africa.
"Nelson Mandela was a singular figure on the global stage, a man of quiet dignity and towering achievement, a giant for justice and a down-to-earth human inspiration," said UN chief in a statement following Mandela's death. (SPS)
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