K Motlanthe: Tribute to Miriam Makeba at assembly of African
Union

1 February 2008

Your Excellencies, Head of State and Government of African Union Members
States
Leaders of delegations
Ministers and Deputy Ministers
Chairperson of the African Union, H E President Kikwete
Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H E Ping
Your Excellencies, Ambassadors and High Commissioners
Senior government officials
African Union (AU) secretariat
Distinguished guests
Comrades and friends
Ladies and gentlemen
Members of the media

I am honoured to deliver this historic tribute in honour of one of the most
iconic daughters of our continent, Miriam Zenzile Makeba. On behalf of the
people of South Africa, I would therefore like to thank the African Union
Commission for this tribute to Mama Africa, as Miriam Makeba was popularly
known. Chairperson, let me equally thank the AU Commission for honouring yet
another legendary figure in the struggle for human freedom, Aime' Cesaire, the
Martinique and African poet, activist, statesman and thinker.

These two remarkable voices of the yearnings of African people all over the
world will always ring out with dignity and conscience-pricking force through
the passage of time. Indeed, the lilting voice of Miriam Makeba which belted
out enlivening melodies about human freedom finds deep resonance in the
humanist thought of Cesaire, which is movingly expressed in the poetic genre,
as only Cesaire could express it.

Chairperson

On 10 November 2008, Mama Africa departed the world of the living, after
doing what she did best, performing in Naples, Italy during an Anti-Racism and
Anti-Mafia Event. Whilst alive she would say "I will sing until the last day of
my life," and indeed she did just that till the last day of her life.
Miriam Makeba, whom we also knew as "our Goodwill Ambassador" is, to this day,
still remembered and celebrated by her family, South Africans, the African
continent, and the rest of the democratic world that she touched.
Her departure does not diminish her stature or our memories of her.
It is an honour to have both her grand children, Nelson Lumumba Lee and Zenzi
Monique Lee, performing tonight in her memory. Mama Africa was known for her
outstanding performances, including one at the birth of the Organisation of the
African Unity in 1963, the predecessor of the African Union.

Although Mama Africa performed for many internationally known leaders such
as Pope John Paul II, Presidents Fidel Castro, John F Kennedy and Jacques
Chirac and spoke at the United Nations on two occasions, she was a visionary
artist who, in her own words said "I am not a political singer. People think I
consciously decided to tell the world what was happening in South Africa. No! I
was singing about my life."

Her sweet, melodic voice, her haunting melodies and rhythmic compositions
steeped in the culture of her native land and continent, South Africa and
Africa moved the world to appreciate her music and open their hearts to her
message of her life of struggle for freedom and dignity for herself and her
people.
Miriam Makeba, a daughter of a domestic worker, began her career in the 1950's
dusty townships of South Africa and was catapulted on to the world stage when
she left South Africa for London in 1959. There she caught the eye of Harry
Belafonte who introduced her, through her music, to Duke Ellington, Nina
Simone, Miles Davis and to the world in New York.

Her music won her many awards including being the first black African woman
to win the Grammy, fame on every continent and immortality through songs such
as pata pata, Qongqothwane, Malaika, West wind, and Africa is where my heart
lies.” Most significantly, it is the message of her music that she spread far
and wide that brought the wrath of those who oppressed her and her people. She
could not return to her mother land to bury her mother because the apartheid
regime had revoked her passport. Her music including Pata pata and the click
song were banned by the apartheid regime.

Miriam Makeba’s indomitable spirit could never be tamed. She sang, not only,
about the plight of South Africans but descendants of slaves in the United
State of America (USA) in her song “This Piece of Ground”. She dared to love
and marry a Civil Rights activist, Stokely Carmichael resulting in many
concerts, tours and recording deals to be cancelled in the USA.
They moved to Guinea where they became the guests of President Sekou' Toure and
where she continued her music in Africa. Wherever Miriam Makeba was, her music
would mobilise people for our dignity and our pride behind the banner of
national liberation. Through her music, sung in different languages, she became
the symbol of peace, freedom and one of the world's most prominent black
African performers of the 20th century.

In 1990 former President Nelson Mandela persuaded Mama Africa to return to
South Africa. Even after South Africa won its democracy, her life of exile and
residence on many continents led to songs such as “Masakhane”, which she
dedicated to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), that ‘unity is
strength’. This phenomenal matriarch would always remind us that through simple
acts we could change the lives of millions for the better.
This exceptional woman never ceased to perform. She continued and never looked
back.

My predecessor, President Mbeki, on behalf of the South African Government,
in 2001, appointed her as the Goodwill Ambassador to Africa. Once again, our
beloved Makeba did what she does best, performing her music and mobilising the
world behind efforts aimed at creating sustainable development in our country,
the region and indeed the entire continent of Africa. This duty she performed
voluntarily for decades without a title. I can say without fear of
contradiction that she was amongst the first Ambassadors for a democratic South
Africa. In 2001, we formally recognised both her work and self-earned
status.
Mama Africa was selfless and had a big, gentle heart. Her compassion and love
for her people drove her to establish the Makeba Rehabilitation Centre for
Girls which opened in 2003 in Midrand, South Africa.

She contributed immensely to a better life not only in South Africa but in
many African Countries as Goodwill Ambassador. She has been showered with
awards and innumerable prizes for lifting up and empowering women and children
and simply by being an unparalleled role model to all of us. She has done it
all and received all known acknowledgements from Grammy Awards, a Swedish Polar
award, the Dag Hammarskjöld Prize for Peace, International Award for Social
Engagement, Minerva Award and in 1999 she received the South African National
Order for Meritorious Service.

She is a hard act to follow, and we, who remain, can learn from Miriam
Makeba that the fulfilment of our dreams and leading a just cause is not in
material riches or power and glory, but in seeing our lifelong labours
materialise in a better life for humanity at large. Our irrepressible artists,
poets and writers have held aloft the flag of justice, democracy, peace and
equality, and Miriam Makeba is one such glorious example! Let us continue to
immortalise their lives through the leadership we provide, promoting democratic
culture and putting the conditions of our people first in everything we do.
This will be the greatest and indelible tribute to the lives of Miriam Makeba
and the prodigious Aime' Cesaire.

I thank you

Enquiries:
Thabo Masebe:
Cell: 082 410 8087

Issued By: The Presidency
2 February 2009