Post date: Dec 06, 2013 7:46:59 PM
Former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, an old ally of Nelson Mandela's in the fight against apartheid, signs the book of condolence at the South African High Commission in Zambia and hails Mandela as "a great freedom fighter".
LUSAKA, ZAMBIA (DECEMBER 6, 2013) (REUTERS) - Former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, an old ally of Nelson Mandela in the fight against apartheid, hailed him on Friday (December 6) as "a great freedom fighter". Mandela died peacefully at his Johannesburg home on Thursday (December 5) in the company of his family after a long illness.
On Friday, South Africa's country's 52 million people absorbed the news that the statesman, a global symbol of reconciliation and peaceful co-existence, had departed forever.Speaking in Lusaka, Kaunda said he will remember Mandela as a great freedom fighter who sacrificed his life for the good of all humanity.
"There is no other way to remember Madiba except that he came to say thank you, not only to us in Zambia, to all fighters who worked to help him and his struggle. That's how I remember him, a great freedom fighter, recognising what was done to help him in that struggle," Kaunda said.
He added that the world could learn a lot from Mandela's ethos of peaceful co-existence.
"He loved mankind. By loving God, he loved mankind. He loved mankind regardless of colour," he said.
Tributes have poured in for Mandela, who had been suffering for nearly a year from a recurring lung illness dating back to the 27 years he spent in apartheid jails, including the Robben Island penal colony.
U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron were among those who praised him. The flags of the 193 United Nations member states along First Avenue in Manhattan,New York were lowered at 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT) in honour of Mandela. The U.N. General Assembly observed a minute of silence.