Mbeki salutes actress

SOUTH AFRICAN President Thabo Mbeki led national tributes after Charlize Theron became the first African to win an Oscar for best actress.

“No less than the Nobel prizes for peace and literature that the free South Africa has previously taken from the honours shelves of the world, the award of the Best Actress Oscar to Charlize Theron is a triumph of new South African opportunity,” he said.

“Ms Theron, in her own personal life, represents a grand metaphor of South Africa’s move from agony to achievement.”