Mandela’s Youngest Daughter Zindzi Buried
Zindzi Mandela, the youngest daughter of South Africa’s first black president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, was buried at a private funeral on Friday following her death aged 59 earlier this week.
The daughter of Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, was South Africa’s ambassador to Denmark at the time of her death, which coincided with the anniversary of a car crash that claimed the life of his first son, 51 years earlier.
Her family said she had tested positive for coronavirus on the day she died on Monday, but they were still awaiting post-mortem results.
In a eulogy at a virtual memorial Thursday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa thanked the Mandela family for “the very important gesture of sharing this information with the nation”.
“In doing so you are helping to encourage social acceptance for sufferers.”
“This is a virus that affects us all, and there should never be any stigma around people who become infected,” said Ramaphosa.
Zindzi was buried next to her mother, Winnie who died two years ago at a cemetery in Fourways, a northern suburb of Johannesburg.
Radical leftist opposition leader Julius Malema paid tribute to Zindzi for her role in the liberation of South Africa from the shackles of apartheid.
South Africa is now the world’s sixth most affected country with 324,221 cases, including 4,669 deaths.