The deceased daughter of Nelson Mandela, ambassador Zindzi Mandela, tested positive for COVID-19 before her death, the family disclosed this week.

Local media reports cited her son, Zondwa as confirming the news. Authorities are yet to ascertain whether it was the cause of death.

Ms Mandela has being buried today, July 17; next to her mother at the Fourways Memorial Park in Johannesburg. Her mother Winnie Madikizela-Mandela died in 2018.

The former South Africa ambassador to Denmark grew up at the height of the anti-apartheid struggle. With her father imprisoned on Robben Island, she endured years of harassment and intimidation by the apartheid regime.

President Ramaphosa in a tribute to Zindzi extolled her virtues through the anti-apartheid struggle and after its fall. he described her as the pride of her father and thanked the family for the virus status disclosure which he said will go a long way to combat stigma.

“Just yesterday we received the news that Zindzi too had tested positive for the virus. I would like to thank the Mandela family for the very important gesture of sharing this information with the nation. This is a virus that affects us all, and there should never be any stigma around people who become infected.

In doing so you are helping to encourage social acceptance for sufferers. At such a time what they need most is our love and care. This gesture is a final act of solidarity in the life of a woman who devoted her life to the cause of her fellow South Africans.