Johannesburg  - Nelson Mandela on Monday paid tribute to singer and fellow anti-apartheid icon Miriam Makeba, calling her "South Africa's first lady of song."

"The sudden passing of our beloved Miriam has saddened us and our nation," the former South African president and Nobel laureate said.

"It was fitting that her last moments were spent on a stage, enriching the hearts and lives of others - and again in support of a good cause," he added.

Makeba, 76, collapsed shortly after a performance in southern Italy on Sunday evening and died in hospital early Monday. Her performance had also meant to pay homage to six African killed by a Mafia-like organization in Italy in September.

"Her haunting melodies gave a voice to the pain of exile and dislocation which she felt for 31 long years. At the same time her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in all of us," Mandela said.

Makeba began her musical career in South Africa in the 1950s but left the country a decade later after she was banned by the apartheid government.

After his release from prison as apartheid began crumbling, Mandela urged exiles like the Grammy Award-winning Makeba and her ex- husband jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela to return to the country.