Johannesburg - The son of anti-apartheid activists Oliver and Adelaide Tambo, Dali Tambo, says he already misses former President Nelson Mandela, who passed away at 95 years of age at his Houghton home, in Johannesburg, on Thursday, 5 December.
Speaking to SAnews after the service on the National Day of Prayer and Reflection on the life of Madiba at the Bryanston Methodist Church, the TV show host took a deep breath and said: “… I will remember him as my father’s colleague and best friend.
“From a personal perspective, I miss him already. I have not seen a lot of him in the last few months because he had been sick, but I miss him already as does everybody else in this country.”
Tambo said while in prison, Mandela became a symbol of all political parties and again became the symbol of the new democratic South Africa after he spent 27 years in prison.
“I regret the fact that he spent 27 years in jail in order for us to have this rainbow nation… but today I celebrate that those days are gone. I think his legacy will be a united nation that going forward citizens will love and embrace each other.”
Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane, who also attended the prayer service, said: “I will remember Mandela as a unifier, a father and a great leader who loved the people of South Africa beyond himself.”
African National Congress (ANC) treasurer general Zweli Mkhize said: “All of us as South Africans, we are moved and very saddened by the passing away of Madiba. But what is important for us is the need to unite and re-live the values of our late former President. Those are unity, reconciliation and compassion - so that we create a better South Africa. We’ve got a beacon in Nelson Mandela to take our country forward.”
President Zuma, Madiba’s ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Madiba’s grandson Chief Mandla Mandela also attended the National Day of Prayer. - SAnews.gov.za
