The South African President, Mr Thabo Mbeki, yesterday joined his predecessor, Mr Nelson Mandela, in praising the late Zimbabwean liberation hero Joshua Nkomo, saying he had been an inspiring and outstanding leader.
In a letter of condolence to President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, President Mbeki said Mr Nkomo and Mr Mugabe had "bequeathed a legacy of patriotic unity and co-operation, which has served as an inspiring example to South Africans.
"The importance of this legacy is even more relevant to our continent today."
The 83-year-old Nkomo, Zimbabwe's vice president, died in Harare early yesterday after suffering from prostate cancer.
President Mbeki said he had been deeply sad to learn of the death of an "outstanding figure" in Zimbabwe's liberation struggle.
Earlier, Mr Mandela said Nkomo was a fellow comrade in the black liberation struggle.
Mr Mandela told journalists in the small Eastern Cape town of Mount Ayliff that Nkomo "was one of those freedom fighters who stood up for justice at the most difficult time in the course of our struggle."
Mr Mandela (80) praised Nkomo and Mr Mugabe for liberating the former Rhodesia from white minority rule and uniting the country's two main liberation movements.
The former British foreign secretary Lord Carrington yesterday paid tribute to the kindness and humour of Nkomo.
"Sometimes, when he was forcefully pressing his point and really looking quite fierce, he would suddenly burst into a roar of laughter.
"He was a robust nationalist, but with a sense of humour, and really rather a kind man," said Lord Carrington.
Nkomo is survived by his wife Joanna and three children.