On behalf of our Board of Trustees and staff, the Nelson Mandela Foundation sends its deepest condolences to the Mbeki family at this most difficult time.
We mourn the loss of an esteemed member of the generation of leadership that gave South Africa Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Albertina Sisulu, Oliver Tambo, Joe Slovo, Helen Joseph, Govan Mbeki and others. Ma Mbeki will be remembered as a woman of courage, character and passion. Her legacy in the realms of community activism, youth mobilisation and education is a priceless gift to our country.
In a 1974 letter from prison, Mandela said: "South Africa has produced a rich crop of eminent women who have played an independent role in our history." Ma Mbeki was one such woman.
She will be sorely missed.
Hamba kahle.