Zoleka Mandela, granddaughter of South Africa’s first democratically elected president Nelson Mandela, has died of cancer at the age of 43, her family has announced.
In a statement on Instagram, a spokesperson said that Zoleka passed away on Monday evening surrounded by friends and family.
In recent years she had become well known for detailing her cancer treatment and also being open about her history of drug addiction and depression, as well as the fact that she had been sexually abused as a child.
Zoleka also campaigned for better road safety after her 13-year-old daughter was killed in a car accident in 2010.
She documented her story in an autobiography When Hope Whispers.
Just over a decade ago Zoleka had been diagnosed with breast cancer, she received treatment and was in remission but it later returned.
Last year, she confirmed that she had cancer in her liver and lungs, it then spread to other organs. She was being treated as an outpatient but she was admitted to hospital just over a week ago.
“I had a CT scan administered a few weeks back, which have shown that I have blood clots as well as Fibrosis in my lung. This explains the chest pains I had been feeling. My medical oncologist has recommended blood thinners and oral chemo. On the upside, I’m incredibly grateful that I am still treatable,” she wrote on Instagram on 17 September.
