State funeral for Sisulu

2003-05-06 18:24

Cape Town - As emotional tributes flooded in for the late Walter Sisulu, President Thabo Mbeki announced on Tuesday he would seek Cabinet approval for an official funeral for the struggle veteran.

He was speaking at Sisulu's Johannesburg home, where the African National Congress stalwart died on Monday night in the arms of his wife Albertina, 13 days short of his 91st birthday.

Mbeki was only one of a number of prominent figures, including former president Nelson Mandela, ANC Women's League president Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Cabinet ministers and trade union and business personalities who arrived from early Tuesday to pay their respects.

He told journalists Sisulu's death had left South Africa without "one of our greatest sons and architects of our democratic order".

"Because he was a very humble person not many people realised his... contributions to the South Africa we have at present. He was a giant among our people."

He said he would seek Cabinet approval - which he was sure he would get - for a state funeral.

Mbeki's office however later issued a statement saying he would be asking for a "special official funeral", similar to the ceremonial put on for his own father, another struggle veteran, Govan Mbeki.

"We will fly our flag in the country at half mast and work together with the Sisulu family for what we will do next."

It is understood that state funerals are reserved for heads of state and former holders of that position.

'Visionary leader'

Earlier, eulogies for Sisulu poured in from across the political spectrum, and from a range of organisations.

Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon said Sisulu would be remembered as one of the founding fathers of a non-racial, democratic nation.

"As we mourn Walter Sisulu, we can take comfort in reflecting on the freedom and dignity that he helped South Africa to achieve. That is his monument - and it will endure."

Deputy leader of the African Christian Democratic Party Louis Green said Sisulu had been a "great son of Africa, one of the visionary leaders on this continent".

United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa said Sisulu would be remembered and respected for having recruited and nurtured Mandela.

"There's no doubt that although Mr Sisulu was not a well-educated person, his natural gift given to him by God actually rescued this country from a bloodbath, because had the ANC been led by a warmonger maybe we would still be fighting today.

"But because he recruited the right person in Mandela we are all safe and smiling."

'Gentle, peace-loving'

Pan Africanist Congress leader Bishop Stanley Mogoba said Sisulu was "a gentle peace-loving person who loved his country and his people", while his secretary-general Thami ka Plaatje added: "This is a life well lived and this is a rest well deserved."

The Inkatha Freedom Party said Sisulu had been a giant of the liberation movement.

Earlier, the ANC said it was with a "heavy heart and profound sense of loss" that it learned of Sisulu's death, while New National Party leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk said South Africa had lost a formidable leader.

The general secretary of the South African Council of Churches, Dr Molefe Tsele, said Sisulu had lived a life of integrity, dedicated to his people and their wellbeing.

"We thank God for this wonderful exemplary life which in many ways rose above narrow political interests for the common good of all humanity."

Sisulu's ANC colleague Ahmed Kathrada, who travelled up to Johannesburg from Cape Town on Tuesday to visit the family, said he would remember Sisulu for his unshakeable good cheer.

'Forever smiling'

"He was forever smiling and that is the memory I have of him. I last saw him about three weeks ago and although he was very frail.... he was smiling," Kathrada said.

Human rights crusader and former Progressive Party MP Helen Suzman said Sisulu had been a giant among giants.

"He had a wonderful life of real dedication, of course a quarter of a century was spent in jail but he never lost his perspective and calmness."

Tributes also flowed in from organisations ranging from organised labour, including union federation Cosatu; the South African National Civic Organisation; the city of Johannesburg, of which Sisulu was a freeman; the South African Sports Commission and the United Cricket Board of South Africa; to the Chamber of Mines and the South African National Editors' Forum.

In a statement late on Monday night, Mandela himself paid impassioned tribute to their long-standing friendship.

"During the past 62 years our lives have been intertwined. We shared the joy of living, and the pain," Mandela said.

'Through the valley of death'

"Together we shared ideas, forged common commitments. We walked side by side through the valley of death, nursing each other's bruises, holding each other up when our steps faltered. Together we savoured the taste of freedom."

Sisulu was one of the leaders responsible for the radicalising of the African National Congress, which saw it begin sponsoring non-violent protests and marches, in the process becoming a target of police harassment and arrest.

After imprisonment on Robben Island with Mandela, he was elected ANC deputy president at its national conference of July 1991.

In 1992 Sisulu was awarded Isitwalandwe Seaparankoe, the highest honour granted by the ANC, for his contribution to the struggle for liberation.

- SAPA