Passing of a Great South African

I am opening this thread so that members may post a tribute to great South African.

Wanga umphefumlo wakho ungalala ngoxolo Tata. (May your soul rest in peace, Father).

A sad day to bid farewell to a great leader who tried to create the rainbow nation . we owe him a great debt during a fraught time of our history . A man of peace and forgiveness .

Please forgive my trespass into a group where I probably don't really belng but I just wanted to say thank you, South Africa, for sharing this remarkable man with the rest of the world.

No please feel welcome ... Join us , lovely to see your message and yes Mandela was Remarkabke. Even today I drove through Houghton. (his residential suburb in Johannesburg ) and you could not get near his house for several blocks ... People are still parking and walking to pay homage . There are memorial events all ovr this week, tomorrow we are having a memorial commemorative in the Wits Univesity Great Hall (Mandela studied at Wits and was awarded an Hon Doctorate shortly after he was released). He would come to the graduation ceremonies as a private and quiet presence when a grandchild graduated !

>4 Africansky1: Coincidentally, I received my undergraduate degree on the same day that Mr Mandela received his Honorary Doctorate at the University of Pretoria. I felt truly honoured to be in the presence of the great man!

Nadine Gordimer has died peacefully in her sleep, her family said in a statement on Tuesday.
“She was 90 years old, will be lovingly remembered by her family, friends and literary colleagues,” the statement said. “Her son Hugo and daughter Oriane, and her caring helpers were with her.

Yes she will be missed for her wit, her elegance, her youth in old age and her bravery. She was an impressive person. In fact though, better known and honoured abroad than in her own country.
Did you see too that Dan Jacobson had died - he made his life in England but his roots were South African.