Johannesburg - Former president of the National Inter-Faith Leaders' Council Rev Canon Mcebisi Xundu will be remembered as a revolutionary, Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Thabo Makgoba said on Tuesday.
“Canon Xundu was a revolutionary cleric and a great son of this church,” Makgoba said in a statement.
“He was not always easy to get along with, but his faith was characterised by a disciplined and deep spirituality.”
The SABC reported that Xundu died of pneumonia in Port Elizabeth last week, aged 80.
He described Xundu as “the vanguard of the quest for social justice”.
“Not shy to express his partisan political affiliation, he taught us as a church to think, to weep alongside our people, and to be bold in the quest for justice.”
Earlier, the presidency said President Jacob Zuma extended his condolences to Xundu's family. Spokesman Mac Maharaj said Zuma had declared a special provincial official funeral for Xundu.
“The highly regarded community leader was an Anglican priest, a former president of the National Inter-Faith Leaders' Council, as well as a veteran of the liberation struggle and the civic struggles in KwaZulu-Natal townships, in particular during the 1980s.
“The president has directed that the national flag should be flown at half-mast at all stations in the Eastern Cape province on the day of his funeral,” Maharaj said.
The Eastern Cape provincial government, the Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan municipality and Xundu's family said in a joint statement that Xundu's official memorial service would be held at 6pm on Tuesday.
It would take place at Nongoza Jebe Hall, also known as Centenary Hall, in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth.
MECs, mayors, councillors, representatives of political parties, business leaders, and the religious community were expected to attend.
The funeral would be held on Thursday from 9am, also at Nongoza Jebe Hall. All mourners were expected to be seated by 8.30am.
Further details of the funeral would be released on Wednesday.
Sapa