Prominent political figures led a chorus of praise on Monday for singer Miriam Makeba who died at the weekend aged 76.

Anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela described her as "South Africa's first lady of song".

"The sudden passing of our beloved Miriam has saddened us and our nation," said SA's first post-apartheid president.

"She was South Africa's first lady of song and so richly deserved the title of Mama Africa. She was a mother to our struggle and to the young nation of ours."

Makeba (76), whose most famous hits included Pata Pata, The Click Song (Qongqothwane in Xhosa) and Mailaka, died on Sunday after taking part in a concert for Roberto Saviano, a writer threatened with death by the Mafia, an Italian news agency reported.

"She collapsed as she was leaving the stage. She received paramedic assistance and was rushed to hospital where she unfortunately passed away," South Africa's foreign ministry confirmed in a statement on Monday morning.

"It was fitting that her last moments were spent on a stage, enriching the hearts and lives of others — and again in support of a good cause," said Mandela.

He said she used her world-wide fame to put the struggle against apartheid on the global agenda.

"Her haunting melodies gave voice to the pain of exile and dislocation which she felt for 31 long years. At the same time, her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in all of us."

Mandela, who convinced Makeba to come home from exile in 1990, said upon her return she continued to use her name to make a difference "by mentoring musicians and supporting struggling young women".

His tribute was one of many that poured in during the course of Monday.

Mbeki’s tribute

Former president Thabo Mbeki described her as a "unique songbird whose tunes were inspiring, always reminding us of our humanity and obligation to other human beings".

Mbeki paid tribute to her exceptional musical and human qualities — he said he had no doubt that Makeba's music would be immortalised.

He said Makeba's gift and talent served to entertain, to educate and to awaken her global audience to the inhumanity of apartheid.

African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma said the passing of the African songstress left a gaping hole in the cultural life of the country and the African continent.

"On behalf of the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC), I extend our deepest condolences to her grandchildren, her relatives and friends.

"We say to them, the nation and indeed music lovers throughout the world share your sorrow in this time of bereavement."

Zuma said Makeba was beyond dispute — one of Africa's great musical legends.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu said: "What a great loss to us and to the world is the death of that nightingale, Miriam Makeba."

Tutu said the world was slightly better because of Makeba's serenading and was now poorer for her death.

"We give great thanks to God for this tremendous gift of Miriam Makeba. May she rest in peace and rise in glory. Our condolences to her bereaved family," he said.

“Majestic music talent”

The Speaker of Parliament's National Assembly, Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde, sent her condolences to the family and relatives of a "compatriot who brought the meaning of struggle for liberation and nation building through her majestic musical talent".

International filmmaker Anant Singh, who worked with her on Sarafina!, said she was a "legend and an amazing talent".

"We acknowledge the huge role she played in bringing global awareness to African music during the time she lived abroad and she will always be remembered as the mother of African music. Long live the spirit of Mama Africa," said Singh.

Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said she died doing what she did best.

"One of the greatest songstresses of our time, Miriam Makeba, has ceased to sing. Miriam Makeba, South Africa's Goodwill Ambassador, died performing what she did best — an ability to communicate a positive message through the art of singing," said Dlamini-Zuma.

Carrying a responsibility

Makeba, affectionately known as Mama Africa, sang about Africa's struggles for independence.

"People gave me that name. At first I said to myself: 'Why do they want to give me that responsibility, carrying a whole continent?' Then I understood that they did that affectionately. So I accepted. I am Mama Africa," she told AFP in an interview in 2005.

The ruling ANC said she would be remembered for many things, including being the first black African woman to win a Grammy Award.

"Her untimely death... has robbed the music fraternity, country and the world of one of the artists who contributed immensely — through music —to the liberation of South Africa," said ANC spokesperson Jessie Duarte.

"Makeba carried the message for the emancipation of South Africa... The ANC will forever treasure the contribution made by Miriam Makeba in the struggle for liberation and the building of our democracy."

The ANC Women's League described her as an "African songbird... [who was] the beacon of hope to many women of Africa, especially artists".

"She inspired them to rise beyond their prevailing circumstances and use their talent to inspire social, economic, cultural and political change as well as promoting peace and unity across diverse cultures.

"Through her gift of music and her unique voice in the entertainment industry, she was able to craft and portray the conditions of the African people, in particular women. The world was then able to identify with the living conditions under the apartheid system," said ANCWL secretary general Sisisi Tolashe.

Many more tributes

Others who paid tribute to her included the ANC Youth League, the ANC in Gauteng, the Azanian People's Organisation, the Democratic Alliance, the Congress of SA Trade Unions, the Independent Democrats, the Inkatha Freedom Party Youth Brigade, the National Democratic Convention, the Pan Africanist Congress, the provincial arts and culture department in KwaZulu-Natal and the United Democratic Movement.

Miriam Zenzi Makeba was born in Johannesburg on 4 March 1932.

According to Wikipedia, her mother was a Swazi sangoma and her father, who died when she was six, was a Xhosa.

Her professional career kicked off in the 1950s with the Manhattan Brothers, before she formed her own group, The Skylarks.

She grabbed international attention in 1959 when she starred in the anti-apartheid documentary "Come Back, Africa."

After that, she went to London where she met Harry Belafonte. She received a Grammy Award for Best Folk Recording in 1966 with him for An Evening With Belafonte/Makeba.

The album was about black South Africans living under apartheid. Makeba, who was forced into exile, also testified against apartheid before the United Nations in 1963.

A very good old lady

She was married to musician Hugh Masekela and Trinidadian civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael, who was also the leader of the Black Panthers.

When her only daughter, Bongi Makeba, died in 1985, she moved to Brussels.

Upon her return to South Africa, she became involved in training promising young musicians.

Asked by AFP who the next Makeba would be, she replied: "No, nobody can replace me as I can't replace anyone else," adding that she wanted to leave a memory of, simply, a "very good old lady".

Sapa