“Mama Africa” Miriam Makeba dies in Italy.

09 Nov, 2008

Legendary South African singer Miriam Makeba has died in Italy aged 76. She took ill on 9 November following a concert in Castel Volturno near Naples in support of beleaguered Italian anti-mafia writer Roberto Saviano and victims of organised crime. Italian news agency ANSA reports that she died of a heart attack.

Born in Johannesburg in 1932, Makeba was a key figure in the struggle against apartheid and a leading exponent of African music on the world stage. She spent almost 30 years in exile, from 1963 to 1990, but never stopped singing about Africa’s struggles for independence. This dedication to her continent and its problems earned her the name “Mama Africa”.