Johannesburg -
The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Sunday conveyed its condolences to the family of former president Thabo Mbeki following the passing of his mother, Epainette Mbeki.
Spokesman Frans Baleni said: “Cosatu dips its banners in honour of a revolutionary heroine who devoted the whole of her long life to the liberation of her people.”
The trade union hailed her as a hero who raised her three children and continued to work in the struggle against apartheid following the life imprisonment of her husband Govan Mbeki in the Rivonia treason trial.
She died in the Life St Dominic's Hospital in Eastern Cape at the age of 98 on Saturday morning.
She was suffering from a heart problem and chest infection and had been in hospital since May 25.
Her funeral was scheduled to take place at the family home in Ngcingwane, Idutywa, Eastern Cape on Saturday. - Sapa