It is with great sadness that the staff at the Goree Institute in Dakar learned of the death of Frederik van Zyl Slabbert. His death is an inestimable loss to the Institution. We knew of his great value as a revolutionary politician and great business man in South Africa. We knew him as a man who placed value on the need for dialogue between the Afrikaners and the then ANC in exile, and as a man who jumped many hurdles and risked his life and career for the freedom of South Africa. This impact has been felt around Africa and beyond. He continued this work through business but also through the renowned Institute for Democratic Alternatives in South Africa (IDASA).
At the Goree Institute we know Dr Slabbert as the founder of the Institute, created to promote open and just societies in Africa. Critical to the founding of the Goree Institute, some years after the critical 1987 ANC meeting in exile held in Dakar, Dr Slabbert continued to make critical inputs into the development of the Institute through his participation in the board of advisors including the role of president of the board. Even during his illness he continued to think of the Institute and ways he could continue his support and continued to give us of his spirit and great heart.
We at the Institute are grateful for the honor of knowing such a great man, an honest man, an African visionary. Even more, we know the privilege of having Dr Slabbert as one of ours, a task to which he gave all his heart. We will continue in the spirit of his engagement, working with ethics, independence and courage.
We offer our sincere condolences to his family; his wife Jane and his children Rico and Tania. We hope that they find the strength and courage to get through this difficult time.
May his soul rest in peace.
GOREE INSTITUTE
Gorée, may 17, 2010.