Johannesburg - Former president Nelson Mandela was a courageous soldier, patriot and internationalist, and a true revolutionary guided by great feelings of love for his people, the SACP said on Friday.
The SA Communist Party joined South Africans and the world in expressing its condolences to his widow, Graca Machel, and the Mandela family, said spokesperson Alex Mashilo.
President Jacob Zuma had correctly described Mandela as South Africa's greatest son, he said.
“We also wish to use this opportunity to express our solidarity with the African National Congress, an organisation that produced him, and that he also served with distinction, as well as all his colleagues and comrades in our broader liberation movement.”
Mashilo said the ANC owed it to the memory of Mandela to preserve the unity of the alliance.
“The one major lesson we need to learn from Mandela and his generation of leaders was their commitment to principled unity within each of our alliance formations, as well as the unity of our alliance as a whole and that of the entire mass democratic movement.
“Let those who do not understand the extent to which blood was spilt in pursuance of alliance unity be reminded not to throw mud at the legacy and memory of the likes of Madiba by being reckless and gambling with the unity of our alliance.”
Mashilo said the SACP would intensify the struggle against all forms of inequality, including intensifying the struggle for socialism as the only political and economic solution to the problems facing humanity.
Mandela died at his home in Houghton, Johannesburg, on Thursday night, at the age of 95. - Sapa