The grandson of the late anti-apartheid hero Walter Sisulu died of an unspecified illness in London on Thursday. He was 42.
Mlungisi Sisulu, a high-ranking diplomat at the South African Embassy in Sudan, died in a hospital after falling ill during a visit to London with his wife, Kundi, Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma extended condolences to the Sisulu family on behalf of President Thabo Mbeki and South Africa.
“Death has once more robbed the government, the people of our country and indeed the Department of Foreign Affairs of the distinguished services of one of our rising diplomats,” Zuma said.
Mr. Sisulu joined the diplomatic service in 1999 and had served in the Czech Republic.
His grandfather, who died in 2003, was jailed for life along with former President Nelson Mandela in 1963 and was elected deputy president of the African National Congress in 1991. Mr. Sisulu's parents, businessman Max Sisulu and Zimbabwean human rights activist Elinor Sisulu, were also important figures in the fight against white minority rule.
