PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
South Africa: Thabo Mbeki's mother passes away
Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – Tributes are pouring in following the death of former President Thabo Mbeki’s mother, Epainette, on Saturday morning at the age of 98.
She died at the St Dominic Hospital in East London following s short sickness.
Epainette has for decades been a pillar of the Mbeki family and her community.
Her husband, Govan, was one of the liberation heroes, who was jailed with Nelson Mandela on Robben Island.
During his detention, Epainette had to single handedly raise their children who later joined the liberation struggle and made a sterling contribution in the struggle.
The ruling African National Congress saluted her, saying: “We bow our heads in honouring our mother, our stalwart and heroine.”
President Jacob Zuma said she was a consumate activist in her own right who dedicated her life and that of her family to the struggle for liberation in South Africa from an early age.
"Words are not adequate to explain the sad loss of this mother of our nation. We wish to express, on behalf of government and all South Africans, our deepest condolences and the nation's solidarity with the Mbeki family at this hour. May her soul rest in eternal peace," said Zuma.
And the official opposition Democratic Alliance said she would be remembered for her dedication to community development through the establishment of an AIDS hospice and various support initiatives for farmers in the Eastern Cape’s Idutywa district where she chose to spend most of her life.
“Through the sentencing of her husband Govan Mbeki in the Rivonia Trial, she knew first-hand the pain and injustice the apartheid state inflicted on so many South Africans. She will be remembered for her bravery and activism during this dark chapter in South Africa’s history,” said DA spokesman Jamie Turkington.
-0- PANA CU/MA 7June2014
She died at the St Dominic Hospital in East London following s short sickness.
Epainette has for decades been a pillar of the Mbeki family and her community.
Her husband, Govan, was one of the liberation heroes, who was jailed with Nelson Mandela on Robben Island.
During his detention, Epainette had to single handedly raise their children who later joined the liberation struggle and made a sterling contribution in the struggle.
The ruling African National Congress saluted her, saying: “We bow our heads in honouring our mother, our stalwart and heroine.”
President Jacob Zuma said she was a consumate activist in her own right who dedicated her life and that of her family to the struggle for liberation in South Africa from an early age.
"Words are not adequate to explain the sad loss of this mother of our nation. We wish to express, on behalf of government and all South Africans, our deepest condolences and the nation's solidarity with the Mbeki family at this hour. May her soul rest in eternal peace," said Zuma.
And the official opposition Democratic Alliance said she would be remembered for her dedication to community development through the establishment of an AIDS hospice and various support initiatives for farmers in the Eastern Cape’s Idutywa district where she chose to spend most of her life.
“Through the sentencing of her husband Govan Mbeki in the Rivonia Trial, she knew first-hand the pain and injustice the apartheid state inflicted on so many South Africans. She will be remembered for her bravery and activism during this dark chapter in South Africa’s history,” said DA spokesman Jamie Turkington.
-0- PANA CU/MA 7June2014
