Former president Nelson Mandela said the late Kobie Coetsee was a great South African who had not yet been accorded his rightful place among the patriots and had contributed to the peaceful transition in the country. Coetsee, 69, a former Justice Minister who served under both PW Botha and FW de Klerk, died early on Saturday morning after a heart attack at his Bloemfontein home. “It was with great sadness and a real sense of personal loss that we learnt of the death of Mr Coetsee, president of the Senate in our first democratically elected Parliament,” Mandela’s office said in a statement. Coetsee was instrumental in arranging meetings with Mandela and Botha, and later with de Klerk, which led to Mandela’s release from prison after 27 years. Mandela conveyed his sympathies to Coetsee’s family.