Zille: Sisulu symbolised all that is good in SA

2011-06-03 13:35

Johannesburg - Albertina Sisulu symbolised "all that is strong and good" about South Africa, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said in a tribute on Friday.

"She showed extraordinary fortitude, courage and perseverance in the most difficult times," said Zille.

"She raised her family as a single parent while her husband was in prison. She was unwavering in her [commitment] to justice for all and the values that she lived are now embedded in our constitution."

The best tribute to her sacrifices was to sustain and defend democracy.

Sisulu died at her home in Linden, Johannesburg, at the age of 92 on Thursday night while watching television. Some of her grandchildren and housekeepers were with her.

Earlier, the ANC said that Sisulu had emerged to fill the void when leaders like former president Nelson Mandela and former ANC president Oliver Tambo, and her husband former ANC deputy president Walter Sisulu, who died in 2003, were exiled or imprisoned.

A nurse and midwife, Albertina Sisulu was also a founder of the United Democratic Front and a deputy president of the ANC Women's League. She participated in the anti-pass march to the Union Buildings in 1956 and was part of the launch of the Freedom Charter.

- SAPA