/ 4 June 2011

Motlanthe pays his respects to Sisulu’s family

Motlanthe Pays His Respects To Sisulu's Family

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe visited Albertina Sisulu’s Linden, Johannesburg, home to pay his respects to her family on Saturday, South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported.

  • View our gallery of images from the Sisulu home

Motlanthe visited before he was scheduled to leave for New York on Sunday to attend the UN high-level government conference on HIV and Aids.

Albertina Sisulu died aged 92 while watching TV at home on Thursday night.

In 1994 she was elected to the first democratic Parliament, which she served until retiring four years later. She was a deputy president of the ANC Women’s League, a nurse and a midwife, and took part in the formation of the United Democratic Front, the 1956 anti-pass march to the Union Buildings and the launch of the Freedom Charter.

President Jacob Zuma and former president Thabo Mbeki visited the Sisulu family on Friday.

Zuma granted her an “official funeral category one”, reserved for distinguished persons, specifically designated by the president.

On Friday, a stream of people made their way to the home to pay their respects, among them Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa, ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu, former Idols judge Mara Louw and Sophie Williams De Bruyn, who led the 1956 women’s march with Sisulu.

In a statement on Friday, the African National Congress said Sisula had epitomised the struggles of the poor, women and the disenfranchised. Not only had the family lost her, but the country had lost an irreplaceable leader.

“She embodied grace and humility,” the ANC said. – Sapa