UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was saddened by the death of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, a former wife of Nelson Mandela and an anti-apartheid leader in her own right, a UN spokesman has said.
"The Secretary-General is saddened by the passing of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, a leading figure at the forefront of the fight against apartheid in South Africa," Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, told reporters on Monday, Xinhua reported.
"She was a strong and fearless voice in the struggle for equal rights and will be remembered as a symbol of resistance," said the spokesman.
The Secretary-General extended his deepest condolences to the people of South Africa and to Madikizela-Mandela's family, he said.
Madikizela-Mandela died in Johannesburg on Monday at the age of 81. She died peacefully surrounded by her family following a long illness that kept her in and out of hospital since the start of the year, her family said in a statement.
Madikizela-Mandela was one of the greatest icons of the struggle against Apartheid.
--IANS
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