Ramaphosa to honour Mugabe at memorial service
President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to deliver the main address at a memorial service for late former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe in Pietermaritzburg, on Friday.
The African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal will host the service in the Moses Mabhida region. The ruling party has been hosting tributes across the country.
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"It’s very important for us as the ANC to honour Comrade Mugabe, because he is a graduate of the ANC. He was part of the ANC Youth League detachment. He was one of the students who were educated at Lovedale College as well as Fort Hare University. He is essentially part of us. He is not only a highly respected Pan-Africanist and a leader of the national democratic revolution but equally, he is seen by many of us in a way that we see President Nelson Mandela and President Oliver Tambo," said ANC KZN Provincial Secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli.
Former President Thabo Mbeki spoke at memorial at the Durban City Hall on Tuesday. He praised Mugabe for defending his nation from other countries trying to control it.
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Mugabe died in Singapore, where he had been receiving treatment, earlier this month. He was 95-years-old.