Johannesburg  - South Africans have been invited to mourn deceased singer Miriam Makeba at a public memorial service in her native Johannesburg at the weekend, The Star newspaper reported Friday.

Makeba, Africa's first Grammy award winning singer and a leading anti-apartheid activist, died on Sunday in Italy after performing at a concert.

On Wednesday President Kgalema Motlanthe declared national days of mourning leading up to the funeral of the woman, known to her legions of fans worldwide as Mama Africa.

Johannesburg - The body of South African singer and anti-apartheid icon, Miriam Makeba, arrived back in her native Johannesburg Wednesday, three days after her death in Italy.

Makeba, 76, who was known affectionately as Mama Africa, suffered a heart attack shortly after a performance on Sunday evening in southern Italy in support of a campaign against organized crime.

Family members, fellow musicians and Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan were at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg to receive her remains.

Johannesburg  - Miriam Makeba, South Africa's "Mama Africa", who died at 76 in Italy on Sunday, was the much-loved voice of her country's anti-apartheid struggle during her long years in exile and an ambassador for African music in the West.

Born outside Johannesburg on March 4, 1932, in Soweto township, Makeba was the first female African musician to receive a Grammy award, which came in 1966 for her album with Calypso king Harry Belafonte, entitled An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba.

Johannesburg  - South African singer Miriam Makeba died Monday morning from a heart attack in an Italian clinic, her manager confirmed.

Makeba, 76, felt ill after a performance on Sunday evening and was brought by ambulance to a hospital in Castel Volturno in southern Italy, where she died, Italy's ANSA news agency said.

"It was a life well lived," her manager told South African private radio station Radio 702.

"It's really the passing of an era, her legacy will always live on. She hasn't been well for some time now, she had serious arthritis. She had plans for another album to come out. She opened the eyes and ears of the world to South African music," he said in an interview with a different radio station.

Rome/Johannesburg  - South African singer Miriam Makeba died Monday morning from a heart attack in an Italian clinic, an Italian media report said.

According to the ANSA news agency, 76-year-old Makeba felt ill after a performance on Sunday evening and was brought by ambulance to a hospital in Castel Volturno in southern Italy, where she died.

Makeba, a former anti-apartheid activist, was born on March 4, 1932, and enjoyed international fame with the hit song Pata Pata.