JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s first black president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela died yesterday.
A peacemaker, Mandela, 95, led South Africa’s transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s, after 27 years in prison.
He had been receiving intense home-based medical care for a lung infection after three months in hospital.
In a statement on South African national TV yesterday, South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma said Mandela had “departed” and was at peace.
“We’ve lost our greatest son. Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father,” Zuma said.
He said Mandela would receive a full state funeral, and flags would be flown at half-mast. His funeral is likely to take place next Saturday.
South Africans were in mourning last night as they gathered outside Mandela’s home. Some were flying flags and wearing the shirts of the governing African National Congress Mandela once led.
