Special funeral declared for Zondeni Veronica Sobukwe

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday declared a special state funeral for Zondeni Veronica Sobukwe, the wife of the late Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) founder Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe.

Sobukwe, 91, died on Wednesday at her home in Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape.

Presidency spokesperson Khusela Diko said Sobukwe's "tenacious" call for freedom and "steadfast" support for incarcerated freedom fighters had earned her The Order of Luthuli in Silver.

"Independent of her husband Sobukwe, she challenged the injustices metered out against the large population of South Africans."

Diko said Ramaphosa had instructed that the national flag fly at half-mast "at every station in the country for the late Sobukwe".

As a mark of respect, flags are expected to be at half-mast until the evening of the funeral service.

The details of the funeral are expected to be announced by the Eastern Cape province in due course, Diko added.