Ramaphosa pays tribute to anti-apartheid activist and reverend, Dr Tshenuwani Farisani
Ramaphosa was speaking at Farisani's funeral at the University of Venda in Thohoyandou, Limpopo.
The reverend is being honoured with a special official provincial funeral.
Family, mourners and top government officials, including president Ramaphosa and Limpopo Premier, Dr Phophi Ramathuba, gathered to pay their final respects to reverend Farisani.
A Lutheran minister and black consciousness activist, Farisani played a key role in the struggle against Apartheid.
His activism led to his appointment as a member of Parliament and later Speaker of the Limpopo provincial legislature in 2004.
The 76-year-old died on Thursday after suffering from an undisclosed illness.
President Ramaphosa said: "These experiences instilled in him a deep sense of understanding injustice. It was planted in the mind and the head of Dr Farisani, the seeds of political consciousness when he was still a teen."
He is survived by his wife, two daughters, and a son.
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