Tributes pour in for Ontlametse

[caption id="attachment_200581" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Ontlametse Phalatse met with President Jacob Zuma in March as part of her bucket list
File picture: The Presidency[/caption]

Well-known celebrities have joined the nation in paying tribute to 18-year-old Ontlametse Ntlami Phalatse‚ who died after a long battle with Progeria.

Ontlametse died at George Mukhari Academic Hospital in Ga-Rankuwa‚ Pretoria‚ on Tuesday morning.

Celebrities including Somizi‚ Redi Tlhabi‚ Siv Ngesi and sport personality Jimmy Tau joined the masses in celebrating Ontlametse’s life and bidding farewell to the brave young woman.

Ontlametse was one of two young South African women living with Progeria‚ an extremely rare genetic disorder in which symptoms resembling aspects of ageing are manifested at a very early age.

Ontlametse’s doctors did not expect her to live past the age of 13 or 14, but she fought on until the age of 18 and finished her matric.

She met President Jacob Zuma just last month as part of her “bucket list”.

https://twitter.com/GovernmentZA/status/852032014119129088

Somizi shared a heartfelt tribute filled with a collage of pictures of Ontlametse: “Wow. My angel is gone. I’m forever proud of u. U won this fight. U were told u will never live beyond 13 yrs. 18 years of a great life u had.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSxlqPkFpEb/

Here are more of the tributes that poured in:

https://twitter.com/RediTlhabi/status/852057758409084928

https://twitter.com/iamSivN/status/852029068375506944

https://twitter.com/Jimmytau2/status/852030176552558594

https://twitter.com/BontleModiselle/status/852059364068397056

https://twitter.com/SbuNoah/status/852041638075482112

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSxts6eFvsI/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSxkXcEgQfy/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSxoQ78Df6o/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSxlaJdj2pC/