His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta has sent a message of condolence and comfort to President Cyril Ramaphosa and the people of the Republic of South Africa following the death of the country’s former Head of State Frederik Willem de Klerk after a battle with cancer.
Mr de Klerk, 85, served as South Africa’s Head of State between 1989 and 1994, and played a key role in the country’s transition to democracy from apartheid, a feat that earned him a Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 alongside former President Nelson Mandela.
President Cyril Ramaphosa paid tribute to de Klerk’s role in South Africa’s transition to democracy.
“He took the courageous decision (as president) to unban political parties, release political prisoners and enter into negotiations with the liberation movement amid severe pressure to the contrary from many in his political constituency,” he said.
Mandela’s foundation said de Klerk would “forever be linked to Nelson Mandela in the annals of South African history”.
However, de Klerk’s role in the transition from minority white rule remains controversial.
For some in South Africa, FW de Klerk was a great statesman – the Nobel Peace Prize winner who helped end the system of legalised racism that he inherited.
For others, he benefited enormously from that same system and deserved to be prosecuted for its many crimes.
In truth, he was a man of many parts.
