President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has eulogized anti-apartheid campaigner and former wife of Nelson Mandela, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela died on Monday aged 81 after a long illness.
Family spokesman Victor Dlamini confirmed earlier on Monday that Mrs Mandela “succumbed peacefully in the early hours of Monday afternoon surrounded by her family and loved ones” following a long illness, which had seen her go in and out of hospital since the start of the year.
President Akufo-Addo in a tribute on Facebook Tuesday morning said Madikizela-Mandela will forever be remembered as a freedom fighter and a fearless and remarkable woman.
“I’m deeply saddened by the news of the death of Winnie Mandela. Her name will echo down the ages, and will forever be remembered as a freedom fighter and a fearless and remarkable woman. Rest in perfect peace “Mama Wetu.” You’ve earned it,” Akufo-Addo wrote.
Madikizela-Mandela and her former husband Nelson Mandela, who were both jailed, were a symbol of the country’s anti-apartheid struggle for three decades.
However, in later years her reputation became tainted legally and politically.
Crowds of mourners and political figures flocked to her home in Soweto, in Johannesburg, after news of her death broke.
Mrs Madikizela-Mandela was born in 1936 in the Eastern Cape – then known as Transkei.
She was a trained social worker when she met her future husband in the 1950s. They went on to have two daughters together.
They were married for a total of 38 years, although for almost three decades of that time they were separated due to Mr Mandela’s long imprisonment.
It was Mrs Madikizela-Mandela who took his baton after he was jailed for life, becoming an international symbol of resistance to apartheid. She too was jailed for her role in the fight for justice and equality.
To her supporters, she became known affectionately as “Mother of the Nation”.