Sepikara, lefu ke ngwetsi ya malapa ohle. Ha e le mona kajeno le etetse lelapa lena, ha re sa na mantswe a mangata. Re se re tlo leboha se etsahetseng.

Sepikara, ha re ke re hlahlobe ditsela tseo re di tsamaileng. Thaka ya Lumumba, mphato wa Xhamela, Zinzi le Ramokgadi, molaodi wa Vuyisile Mini le mabotho a lerumo la setjhaba, o re siile kajeno mme o se a robetse. Na le a nkutlwa? Mohlankana ya kileng a etsa mohlolo. Yare a kgutla komeng a betlilwe, a baleha ntho e monate, a thobela lenyalo. O se a re siile kajeno Madiba. Lefaufau le kileng la tjamelana le medimo ya mmuso wa kgethollo, boVerwoerd le Vorster le latetse boMahabane, Xuma le Luthuli. Utlwa! (Translation of Sesotho paragraphs follows.)

[Mr G P LEKOTA: Speaker, every family experiences death. As it has today paid a visit to this family, there is not much we can say. We are here to express gratitude about what has happened.

Speaker, let us reflect on the journey that we have taken. Lumumba's companion, a compatriot of Xhamela, Zinzi and Ramokgadi, Vuyisile Mini's commander and that of the nation's army, has left us and passed away. Do you hear me? He was a man who once did an unusual thing. After returning from the initiation school he ran away from a wonderful experience - he ran away from getting married. Today Madiba has left us. A tall, well-built man who once confronted the gods of the apartheid regime, Verwoerd and Vorster, has followed Mahabane, Xuma and Luthuli. Listen to me!]

We shall meet force with force.

O ile Madiba! Lentswe le kileng la omanya morena wa makgowa re le teng re mametse mme mala a kgwehla, mangole a thothomela, re itshwarella ka dipilara mme e mong a ba a itshwarella ka lekgowa la lepolesa, le thotse kajeno. E, Maafrika Borwa, mosuwehlooho e moholo wa sehlekehleke sa Robben, titjhere ya Tshwete le Moseneke, e se kwetse sekolo seo. E tsheletse mose ho noka ya Jordane. Ke Madiba e moholo, mohlankana ya kileng a tshela dinoka a ba a tshela le Lekwa mme a fihla a ema Gauteng.

Ha le ntse le mmametse le tle le utlwisise hore ke motswalle e moholo wa Motlotlehi wa Pele wa Basotho e leng Morena Moshweshwe, ya kileng a re motse ho ahwa wa morapedi, o ka nketsang ha e ahe letho. Le yena e ile yare ha a shebane le rona re le Maafrika Borwa o ile a re hopotsa mantswe a morena e moholo a re, kgotso ke kgaitsedi ya ka! Ha kgotso e le kgaitsedi ya ka, le tle le inahanele le le setjhaba sa Afrika Borwa, ba batsho le ba basweu, mefuta yohle e buang dipuo tse fapafapaneng hore kgotso ke eng ho lona. Ke re o ile Madiba, o re siile empa ha re dikgutsana! (Translation of Sesotho paragraphs follows.) [Madiba is gone! The voice that once shouted at the leader of the whites in our presence - we could feel our stomachs loosen, our knees were shaking, we steadied ourselves against pillars and someone even steadied themselves against a white policeman - is quiet today. Yes, South Africans, the great principal of Robben Island, the teacher of Tshwete and Moseneke, has shut down that school. He has crossed over the River Jordan. It is the great Madiba, the man who once crossed rivers and eventually crossed the Vaal River and settled in Gauteng.

As you are listening to me, you will understand that he was a friend of His Majesty, the First King of the Basotho, King Moshweshwe, who once said that a strong family is characterised by humility, and arrogance doesn't build a nation. Therefore when he was facing the struggles of his fellow South Africans, he reminded us of the words of the great king and said:

Peace is my sister! Therefore, if peace is my sister, you as the nation of South Africa, black and white, all kinds of people with different languages, what does peace mean to you?

I therefore say, Madiba is gone, he has left us, but we are not orphans.]

We must now face our future without this individual who was central to the issues directing our nation for a long time, but he has taught us well. He has left us examples and we are ready. So, we must take up the cudgels of struggle and soldier on with the task he gave us, to search for a better life for all. Halala, Madiba! [Praise to you, Madiba!]

HON MEMBERS: Halala!