Former President Thabo Mbeki has just learnt, with great sadness, the passing away of Prof. Kader Asmal today.

Speaking a short while ago from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he is facilitating negotiations between the Sudanese parties on behalf of the African Union ahead of the imminent independence of South Sudan on July 9, the former President described Prof. Asmal as:

“an outstanding fighter for the liberation of South Africa and one of the architects of our democracy.

“Comrade Kader had a keen intellect, a fierce loyalty to principle and a firm and sustained commitment to serve the people of South Africa. He demonstrated these attributes throughout the decades I have known him, since the days of his exile in Ireland.

“All of us who knew and worked with him, whether as a leader of the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement, as part of the leadership of the ANC, or as a Minister in our democratic governments, could always depend on him as a steadfast fighter for the liberation and advancement of the interests of all South Africans.

“All of us will miss his questioning mind, which made him a valuable member of the collective which had the privilege to lead our people over a number of decades.

“South Africa has indeed lost one of its outstanding sons!

“It is no exaggeration to state that Prof Asmal’s passing represents a challenge to our youth, the inheritors of tomorrow. To paraphrase the words of the Martinique revolutionary, Franz Fanon, Prof Asmal discovered the mission of his generation and spent his life seeking to fulfil it. In many ways he fulfilled it. His life therefore serves as a challenge to our youth to define and fulfil its own mission.”

Former President Mbeki also conveyed his sincere condolences to Kader’s wife, Louise, and the rest of the Asmal family.