The body of singing legend MIRIAM MAKEBA will be returned to her home in South Africa following her tragic death in Italy on Sunday (09Nov08). Makeba suffered a heart attack after performing at a charity concert near Caserta and passed away at Pineta Grande hospital shortly afterwards, aged 76.
The South African government confirmed on Tuesday (11Nov08) her body would be flown back home for a funeral service and cremation. In an official statement, a foreign ministry spokesperson says, "The family decided on the repatriation of the mortal remains back to South Africa before cremation." Former South African President Nelson Mandela has hailed the singer as "South Africa's first lady of song".
Makeba spent more than three decades in exile, living in the United States, Guinea and Europe after the country's apartheid regime revoked her citizenship in 1960.
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