Durban: South Africa will honour Mahatma Gandhi with the prestigious Order of the Companions of O R Tambo, for his contributions to world peace.

Gandhi, who crafted the philosophy of satyagraha in South Africa, will be honoured with the award at a special ceremony in Pretoria on December 10.

Gandhi will be honoured along with Dr Kenneth Kaunda, former President of Zambia, and Olof Palme, former President of Sweden who was assassinated in the late 1980s.

The Order of the Companions of O R Tambo is a new award created by the South African government to honour foreign nationals for friendship shown to South Africa and for active solidarity and support given to the country.

O R Tambo, a former president of the ruling African National Congress, worked for the liberation of South Africa. He had received India's active support and had visited the subcontinent on numerous occasions.

President Thabo Mbeki's government has also created another new award, the Order of Mapungubwe, to replace old awards created under apartheid rule.

The award is named after the Mapungubwe Kingdom, which was situated in the Far North province of Limpopo a millennium ago, where Africans developed agriculture, mining and metallurgical industries.

Nelson Mandela will be the first national leader to be bestowed the new national award on December 10. He will be the only candidate to receive the award in the platinum category.

Former apartheid President F W De Klerk will also be given a national award in the gold category.

PTI