Albertina Sisulu Was ‘Part of My Being’ – Mandela

Genevieve Quintal

11 June 2011

Johannesburg — Former President Nelson Mandela said ANC stalwart Albertina Sisulu was part of his being, in a tribute read out at her funeral by his wife Graca Machel at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto on Saturday.

“I want to bid farewell to a comrade and friend,” Machel read to the crowd.

“You are part of my being, you and Walter…I want to express my deep gratitude to you.”

Mandela said for the first time it was not him consoling his family but them consoling him.

He said he hoped the Sisulu and Mandela families would continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder as they had done in the past.

“The years have taken the toll on us, one-by-one friends and comrades have passed on and it feels like a part of oneself has been cut off.”

He said Sisulu, his “beloved sister”, was the biggest loss.

Mandela said he would have loved to have been at the funeral to pay his personal respects but it was “too painful to see you go”.

He said he could imagine Sisulu meeting other comrades who had gone before her and named a few such as her husband Walter Sisulu, former anti-apartheid politician Oliver Tambo and former activist Helen Joseph.

“Thank you for your love. Big hug to all our comrades. Your brother Madiba.”

Sisulu’s son and Speaker in Parliament Max Sisulu said his mother was the centre of her children’s lives.

“She was a dominant presence in our lies and it will be difficult to imagine life without her,” he said during a tribute to his mother on behalf of his siblings.

Sisulu’s grandson Ginyi Sisulu, paid tribute to his grandmother on behalf of all the grandchildren, saying “She taught us to always behave in a dignified way when she scolded us we were deeply hurt”.

Sisulu is survived by seven children, 25 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

Albertina Sisulu died aged 92 while watching TV at home last 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 granted Sisulu an “official funeral category 1”, reserved for distinguished persons, specifically designated by the president.

Her funeral was attended by family members, dignitaries, government officials and ANC heavyweights.

Amongst them were Zuma and his wife Nompumelelo Ntuli, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, former President Nelson Mandela’s wife Graca Machel, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and ANC Youth League President Julius Malema.

Foreign dignitaries were also present. The Prime Minister of Lesotho Pakalitha Mosisili, Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete and the Namibian National Assembly Speaker Theo-Ben Gurirab were among them.

Sisulu made her final journey to the stadium from her home in Khumalo Street accompanied by members of uMkhonto we Sizwe. The coffin was draped in an ANC flag and replaced by the national flag when the coffin arrived at the stadium.

Hushed singing could be heard as her coffin was wheeled into the 40,000 seat Orlando stadium by members of the national defence force on Saturday morning.

Zuma during his eulogy said Sisulu’s name had become synonymous with the struggle for freedom, justice, human rights and human dignity.

“We are laying to rest a stalwart and mother of the nation, who combined resilience and fortitude in fighting colonial oppression and apartheid, with compassion for the poor and the downtrodden.”

He highlighted the work she had done during the struggle. She was one of the last of “dedicated, committed and illustrious generation of leaders”.

Sisulu was buried at Croesus Cemetery in Johannesburg next to her husband Walter Sisulu, who had died in 2003. She was given a military send-off by the guards of honour.

Her family paid their last respects as they threw a handful of sand and rose petals into the grave.

AllAfrica – All the Time