The 59-year-old, whose mother was anti-apartheid activist Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, died in a Johannesburg hospital.
Zindzi Mandela, daughter of South African liberation hero Nelson Mandela and anti-apartheid activist Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, has died, according to officials.
She was 59.
State broadcaster SABC said on Monday Mandela, who has been serving as South Africa’s ambassador to Denmark since 2015, died in a hospital in Johannesburg on Sunday evening. No other details were given.
The Mandela Legacy Foundation, speaking on behalf of the family, said memorial and funeral arrangements for Zindzi would be announced in the course of the week.
President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed sadness at her passing days before Nelson Mandela’s birthday and said she brought home ‘the unshakeable resolve of our fight for freedom.’
Educated in South Africa and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Zindzi Mandela spent many years involved in South Africa’s freedom struggle, and embraced roles in the arts, philanthropy and business.
She rose to international prominence when she read out her father’s rejection of then-President PW Botha’s offer for freedom in 1985.
Tobias Elling Rehfeld, Denmark’s ambassador to South Africa, said he was ‘saddened’ to learn about her death. ❑
