South Africans to carry on the legacy of Mandela

It has been an emotional time for South Africans and the world at large.

Zinzi heard of her father’s death while at the premier for the film "#Mandela:
LongWalktoFreedom"– where they had two minutes of silence after the film was screened.

I was honestly happy for him when I heard the news – because I have been disgusted at how he has been treated especially in the past few months and I am glad that he is now at peace.

That does not stop me from mourning as we have lost a great leader. What saddens me more is how the South Africa we live in, with all its positives is not the South Africa that Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Andrew Mlangeni, Elias Motsoaledi, Ahmed Kathrada, Billy Nair, Denis Goldberg, Lionel "Rusty" Bernstein, Bob Hepple, Arthur Goldreich, Harold Wolpe, James "Jimmy" Kantor, Harold Wolpefought and scores of others, fought for.

It is time that South Africans become who they once were – fighters for peace, justice and integrity.

Nelson Mandela was a man who pursued peace, harmony and justice for all people and cast a long shadow not only over his native South Africa but also across civilization. Utah is half a world away from South Africa, but here, too, he stood as a beacon of integrity and moral authority. – Salt Lake Tribune Former US

President Jimmy Carter says Mandela's "passion for freedom and justice created new hope for generations of oppressed people worldwide".

Former South African President FW De Klerk tells the BBC: "I think Mandela's greatest legacy and influence on the South African nation is that we are basically at peace with each other, not withstanding our great diversity... His greatest legacy is that he was a unifier, and that he successfully broke the bridge between the conflict of the past and the peace of today."

Archbishop Desmond Tutu honours Mandela in a guest column at AllAfrica: "He was not only an amazing gift to humankind, he made South Africans and Africans feel good about being who we are. He made us walk tall. God be praised."

US actor Morgan Freeman, who portrayed Mandela in a 2009 film, describes him as "a saint to many, a hero to all who treasure liberty, freedom and the dignity of humankind. Madiba may no longer be with us, but his journey continues on with all of us".