President Uhuru Kenyatta leads Kenyans in Mourning South Africa's ex-President Frederik Willem de Klerk

President Uhuru Kenyatta has sent a message of condolence and comfort to President Cyril Ramaphosa and the people of the Republic of South Africa following the death of the country's former Head of State Frederik Willem de Klerk.

Mr de Klerk, 85, served as South Africa's Head of State between 1989 and 1994, and played a key role in the country's transition to democracy from apartheid, a feat that earned him a Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 alongside former President Nelson Mandela.

De Klerk, who negotiated the end of white minority rule and a peaceful transfer of power to a Black-led government, passed on after a battle with cancer.

South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa said De Klerk played a “key role in ushering in democracy” in the country, expressing his condolences to the former president’s family.

Former South Africa President Frederik Willem de Klerk Pulse Live Kenya

Julius Malema

Julius Malema, the leader of the Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), the country’s third-biggest political party, said de Klerk should not be referred to as a “former president” but as a “former apartheid president”.

Actress Pearl Thusi

South African Actress Pearl Thusi suggested the former president should not have a state funeral.

“If De Kleark gets a state funeral … That will be a huge middle finger to the people who suffered under the apartheid regime in this country,”

"This headline is upsetting because this guy , till he died, insisted that partners wasn’t a crime against humanity. And released Madiba under duress. The Nobel peace prize was a scam to look unified," said South African Actress Pearl Thusi.