UNITED NATIONS, April 2 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was saddened by the death of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, a former wife of Nelson Mandela and an anti-apartheid leader in her own right, said a UN spokesman on Monday.
"The secretary-general is saddened by the passing of Ms. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, a leading figure at the forefront of the fight against apartheid in South Africa," Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, told reporters.
"She was a strong and fearless voice in the struggle for equal rights and will be remembered as a symbol of resistance," said the spokesman.
The secretary-general extended his deepest condolences to the people of South Africa and to Madikizela-Mandela's family, he said.
Madikizela-Mandela died in Johannesburg on Monday at the age of 81. She died peacefully surrounded by her family following a long illness that kept her in and out of hospital since the start of the year, her family said in a statement.
Madikizela-Mandela was one of the greatest icons of the struggle against Apartheid.
