What’s Up N London: Nelson Mandela Funeral

by Sasha Taylor | ARCHIVES

Nelson Mandela 1918-2013

Nelson Mandela’s body has been laid to rest in a family plot, after political and religious leaders paid tribute to South Africa’s first black president at a state funeral service. His widow, Graca Machel, and President Jacob Zuma were present for the private, traditional Xhosa burial at Nelson Mandela’s ancestral home in Qunu. Zuma had earlier told the larger funeral service that South Africans had to take his legacy forward. Nelson Mandela died on December 5, 2013, at aged 95.  In the UK people have been remembering the impact he had on their lives.

Over the past 24 hours, hundreds of people have been gathering to sing and share memories outside South Africa House, the focus of constant protests during the 1970s and 80s. The death of Nelson Mandela has touched communities around the world. In the UK people have been remembering the impact he had on their lives. Hundreds of people have been gathering to sing and share memories outside South Africa House, the focus of constant protests during the 1970s and 80s. Mandela led South Africa’s transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s, after 27 years in prison for his political activities.

He had been receiving intensive medical care at home for a lung infection after spending three months in hospital. Mandela led South Africa’s transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s, after 27 years in prison for his political activities.

Many tributes from world leaders all around the world illustrated Mandela’s humanitarian sacrifice. General Ban Ki-moon said he was “a giant for justice and a down-to-earth human inspiration”.  Countless people around the globe were greatly influenced by his selfless struggle for human dignity, equality and freedom. He touched our lives in deeply personal ways.” President Barack Obama said Nelson Mandela achieved more than could be expected of any man. “He no longer belongs to us – he belongs to the ages,” he said, adding that Mandela “took history in his hands and bent the arc of the moral universe towards justice.” Obama, the first black president of the United States, said he was one of the millions who drew inspiration from Mandela’s life.  He has ordered that the White House flag be flown at half-mast.

FW de Klerk, as South Africa’s last white president ordered Mandela’s release, called him a “unifier” and said “He had a remarkable lack of bitterness.”  We are relieved that his suffering is over, but our relief is drowned by our grief” He told the BBC that, Mandela’s greatest legacy “is that we are basically at peace with each other notwithstanding our great diversity, that we will be taking hands once again now around his death and around our common sadness and mourning.”

The Elders – a group of global leaders set up by Mandela to pursue peace and human rights – said they “join millions of people around the world who were inspired by his courage and touched by his compassion.”  The group’s chair, Kofi Annan, said the world had lost “a clear moral compass.” “While I mourn the loss of one of Africa’s most distinguished leaders, Madiba’s legacy beckons us to follow his example to strive for human rights, reconciliation and justice for all.”

Nelson Mandela Mourners

Barack Obama

Over 4,500 people including dignitaries attended a state funeral, plus ten days of commemorations for Nelson Mandela began with his coffin being taken on a gun carriage from his home to a giant marquee where his portrait hung behind 95 candles – each representing a year of his life.

After the national anthem, the service heard from a family spokesman, Chief Ngangomhlaba Matanzima, who thanked the army medical team that had treated Mandela before he died.

“A great tree has fallen, he is now going home to rest with his forefathers. We thank them for lending us such an icon.”

Close friend Ahmed Kathrada, told mourners he had lost an “elder brother” who was with him for many years in prison on Robben Island. Kathrada’s voice filled with emotion as he spoke of the difficulty of recent months and of how he had held his friend’s hand the last time he saw him in hospital.

“Farewell my dear brother, my mentor, my leader,” he said. Two grandchildren then addressed the congregation. Ndaba read an obituary, and Nandi, who spoke fondly of her grandfather as a disciplinarian. “We shall miss you… your stern voice when you are not pleased with our behavior. We shall miss your laughter,” said Nandi.

Listening to the tributes were Graca Machel and Mandela’s second wife, Winnie-Madikizela Mandela. They sat either side of President Jacob Zuma. Both women were praised for their love and tolerance, in an address by Malawi’s President Joyce Banda. African National Congress members, veterans of the fight against apartheid and foreign dignitaries – including several African presidents and the Prince of Wales – were among the guests.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu – a long-time friend of Nelson Mandela – was also there, as was US talk-show host Oprah Winfrey. Tens of thousands of people flocked to the FNB stadium for a public memorial on Tuesday, to hear President Barack Obama and other international leaders pay tribute to Mandela. Over the next three days, at least 100,000 people saw the former president’s body lying in state in Pretoria. Thousands more had to be turned away.

On Saturday, Mandela’s coffin was flown from Waterkloof airbase in Pretoria to Mthatha in the Eastern Cape. A military guard of honor then took the casket on a 20-mile (32km) route to Qunu, where Mandela had wanted to spend his final days. Crowds waving flags and cheering and singing lined the route, which culminated at the Mandela homestead.

Nelson Mandela: Key Dates
1918 Born in the Eastern Cape
1943 Joins African National Congress
1956 Charged with high treason but charges dropped
1962 Arrested, convicted of sabotage, sentenced to five years in prison
1964 Charged again, sentenced to life
1990 Freed from prison
1993 Wins Nobel Peace Prize
1994 Elected first black president
1999 Steps down as leader
2004 Retires from public life

NELSON MANDELA FUNERAL GALLERY

FOR MORE ON NELSON MANDELA’S FUNERAL, PLEASE VISIT
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/nelson-mandela/10499236/Funeral-service-for-Nelson-Mandela-held-in-his-home-village-of-Qunu.html