Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has suffered the second bereavement in her family in three weeks, the foreign affairs department disclosed on Friday.
This led to Dlamini-Zuma returning to South Africa from Washington with President Thabo Mbeki on Thursday, instead of going to Britain to address the London Solidarity Conference this weekend, the department said in a statement.
The minister's sister-in-law, Fikile Dlamini, 36, died in Durban on Tuesday after a short illness.
Fikile Dlamini was a worker at Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital at Umlazi near Durban.
She is survived by her husband Sibusiso Dlamini, younger brother of Dlamini-Zuma.
Dlamini-Zuma had to cut short a visit to Ethiopia about three weeks ago following the death of her mother, Rose Dlamini, 75, at the home they shared in Pretoria. - Sapa