PRETORIA: The last day of Nelson Mandela’s formal lying in state yesterday was overwhelmed by mourners desperate to say a final, personal farewell to the anti-apartheid icon.
Barely two hours after opening the top of the casket for viewing, the government said it would be unable to accommodate all those 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.
“We urge people to please NOT make their way to the park and ride facilities,” the government information service said in a written statement.
“Any additional numbers will make it physically impossible for people to be safely transported to the Union Buildings and get the opportunity to file past the body,” it said.
But many had already been turned away the day before, and were determined not to miss out again. Nosiswe Maduna and her 14-year-old daughter had queued vainly for hours on Thursday after travelling 220km from Senekal in Free State Province.
“It was my daughter who said we should sleep here and try again, because she didn’t want to go back without seeing him,” Maduna said.
They spent the night in the open at a petrol station and began queueing at 3.00am so as not to be disappointed again.
For those who did manage to enter the venue, the last glimpse of Mandela prompted powerful feelings.
“It’s truly a moving event. As you walk past his body, you’re overcome with emotion,” said Sakib Khan, a British national living in South Africa since 2002.
Mandela’s body is scheduled to be taken to Waterkloof air force base early this morning, 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 8:00 am (0600 GMT).
But the actual burial will be a strictly private affair, barred to both the general public and the media, government spokeswoman Phumla Williams said.
AFP
