Johannesburg - Preparations for the funeral of the late African National Congress stalwart Albertina Sisulu will be finalized once the family had consulted President Jacob Zuma and other important stakeholders, a family spokesperson said.
Mlungisi Sisulu, one of the sons of mama Sisulu, said the family was taken aback by the news of the 92-year-old's passing at her home in Johannesburg.
"We are still consulting everybody who mattered to her and the press will be informed of the necessary details during the course of the week," Mlungisi said.
Prayers will be held at the family home in Linden everyday between 6pm and 7pm but these will only be limited to family and close friends.
Sisulu is likely to be buried at New Clare Cemetery in Johannesburg where her husband Walter Sisulu was also laid to rest in 2003.
Meanwhile, Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane has described Sisulu's death as a loss not only for her family but South Africa as a whole. "It's a sad loss for the country...mama Sisulu was a woman of stature, she was a leader in her own right and we have all learned something from her," Mokonyane told reporters who have been camping outside the Sisulu home in Linden north of Johannesburg.
She said politically, the country had lost a stalwart and a selfless leader "someone all of us saw as a mentor".
Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu also arrived at the home a short while ago with more ANC and government officials expected to pay their tributes.
