WATCH: Ramaphosa pays tribute to Jesse Jackson in Chicago, calls him ‘one of our own’

By Charmaine Ndlela

President Cyril Ramaphosa paid an emotional tribute to United States civil rights leader Jesse Jackson Senior at a funeral service in Chicago on Saturday, hailing him as a steadfast ally of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle and “one of our own”.

The service, held at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition headquarters, was attended by the Jackson family, the PUSH Rainbow Coalition, members of the US civil rights movement and other American and international dignitaries.

Jackson died on 17 February at the age of 84.

Ramaphosa said South Africans regarded Jackson as one of their own because of the role he played in supporting the country during some of its darkest years under apartheid.

“We are here to join you as you say farewell to a man who carried the message of hope from the streets of Chicago to the streets of Johannesburg,” Ramaphosa said.

“Today we are also here,