JOHANNESBURG – The African National Congress (ANC) on Saturday said it would never disrespect its veterans again.

Cooperative Governance Minister Zweli Mkhize says the party let the late Zola Skweyiya down.

He made the comments at the politician’s funeral service in Pretoria.

READ: Politician Zola Skweyiya dies

The 75-year-old died in hospital after a short illness on 11 April.

The struggle veteran, a vocal critic of President Jacob Zuma and his administration, was once denied entry into the ANC’s Luthuli House headquarters in Johannesburg.

READ: Skweyiya has added his voice to calls for an early ANC elective conference

“There was no such decision to close the door but that is what happened. It is the saddest of any action to be taken against anybody, let alone that this is a leader within the organisation and a man who has spent his entire life dedicated to the liberation struggle,” Mkhize said.

“All of us should be ashamed of what happened, but it’s a lesson we must learn from. I agree with the president that we must all apologise for that and to those for such treatment,” he added.

Earlier, President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged the governing party failed the politician and diplomat.

“Integrity was the defining and determining force as well as guiding light of his entire existence,” the president said.

Ramaphosa described Skweyiya as a noble man.

WATCH: Tributes and praise for Zola Skweyiya

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma remembered Skweyiya as a man who never compromised his principles.

Skweyiya served as Minister of Public Service and Administration in former president Nelson Mandela’s Cabinet and then as Minister of Social Development during Thabo Mbeki’s administration.

The well-known politician stayed on, despite Mbeki’s recall and subsequent resignation, when then acting president Kgalema Motlanthe took office.

eNCA