Mourners flood in to say goodbye

A man waves a South African flag while holding a picture of Nelson Mandela during a memorial for the late leader at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban yesterday. Photo: AFP

Tens of thousands of mourners, some breaking through police barriers, flocked to South Africa’s central government buildings yesterday to say a personal goodbye to anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela on the final day of his lying in state.
Barely two hours after the public was allowed in to view the open-top casket, the government said it would be unable to accommodate the huge numbers still waiting and appealed for people to stay away.
Yesterday was the last opportunity to view the body of South Africa’s first black president in Pretoria, before it is transported to his boyhood village of Qunu for burial tomorrow.
Large numbers had camped out to secure an early place in the queue, but as of 7:30am (0530 GMT) there were already 50,000 waiting for buses to the Union Buildings — the seat of government where the coffin has been laid out for three days.
Up to 24,000 people had viewed the coffin the day before.
By early afternoon, it was clear that most would never get inside, and people started leaving in sad, dejected droves — many of them having already been turned away the day before.
Tempers frayed at one of the waiting venues, with mourners pushing back against police who tried to get them to go home, but there were no serious incidents.
“It’s just not possible,” said one police officer who declined to be named. “There are too many people. The whole of the Republic of South Africa wants to say goodbye.”
Mandela’s body is scheduled to be taken to Waterkloof air force base early today, for the two-hour flight to Qunu in Eastern Cape province, where he grew up.
Tomorrow, some 5,000 people, including foreign dignitaries and senior political figures, are expected to participate in a formal, two-hour ceremony beginning at 8:00am.
But the actual burial will be a strictly private affair, barred to both the general public and the media, government spokeswoman Phumla Williams told AFP.
“They don’t want it to be televised. They don’t want people to see when the body is taken down,” she added.
Around 3,000 members of the media have already descended on Qunu where a special stage and marquee have been erected for the invited guests, who include Britain’s Prince Charles.
The funeral will be held according to traditional Xhosa rites overseen by male members of Mandela’s clan. The slaughtering of an animal — a ritual performed through various milestones of a person’s life — will form a crucial part of the event.
“A funeral is an intricate ceremony that involves communicating with the ancestors and allowing the spirit of the departed person to rest,” said Chief Jonginyaniso Mtirara of the Thembu clan that Mandela hails from.
During the ceremony, Mandela will be referred to as Dalibhunga — the name given to him at the age of 16 as he entered adulthood.
Although Mandela never publicly declared his religious denomination, his family comes from a Methodist background.
Mandela always spoke nostalgically of what he remembered as an idyllic early childhood in the rolling hills around Qunu.
He will be buried in the family estate he built there following his release from prison in 1990.