Sen. Edward Kennedy, who died Tuesday following his battle with brain cancer, was hailed in South Africa as a staunch supporter of the anti-apartheid movement.

At the invitation of Desmond Tutu, Kennedy visited South Africa in January 1985 in a trip denounced by the apartheid regime at the time. On his return to the United States, Kennedy introduced the Anti-Apartheid Act of 1985, legislation that sought to impose economic sanctions on the government of P.W. Botha. A later version of the bill - a mixture of incentives and sanctions - was eventually passed by Congress despite the veto of President Ronald Reagan.

In a statement released Wednesday, the ruling African National Congress said Kennedy was particularly remembered for staging a protest outside Pollsmoor Prison where Nelson Mandela was being held at the time. According to the ANC, Mandela said years later that he knew of Kennedy's presence outside his prison cell and that it "gave us a lot of strength and hope, and the feeling that we had millions behind us both in our struggle against apartheid but in our special situation in prison."

The ANC said it "will forever treasure the contribution made by 'Teddy' in the struggle for liberation and the building of our democracy."

According to press reports, Nelson Mandela Foundation Chief Executive Achmat Dangor expressed his regrets on behalf of Mandela. "He made his voice heard in the struggle against apartheid at a time when the freedom struggle was not widely supported in the West," Dangor said. "We remain grateful for his role."

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