Nelson Mandela's body lying in state in Pretoria

 

The body of Nelson Mandela has arrived at the main government building in South Africa's capital, Pretoria, where it will lie in state for three days.

His remains were taken in procession from a hospital mortuary to the Union Buildings.
Members of the public lined the route to form a "guard of honour".
The public, invited heads of state and international guests will be able to view the body of the former president who died last Thursday, aged 95.
He will be buried in his home village of Qunu in Eastern Cape province on Sunday.
Tens of thousands of South Africans joined scores of world leaders for a national memorial service on Tuesday as part of a series of commemorations.

The body of Nelson Mandela arrived at Pretoria's Union Buildings early on Wednesday

Small crowds had gathered as Mr Mandela's body was driven through Pretoria

The mood was celebratory rather than sombre

His coffin was draped in the South African flag

Quick convoy The procession left the city's 1 Military Hospital shortly after 07:00 (05:00 GMT) on Wednesday. The coffin could be seen inside a black hearse, draped in a South African flag.
It travelled along Kgosi Mampuru Street and Madiba Street on the way to the Union Buildings.
The hearse was in a long convoy with military outriders and military ambulances.
The convoy sped quickly through the streets, with some people running alongside the military guard, the BBC's Joseph Winter in Pretoria says.

Mr Mandela's remains will make the journey from the military hospital every morning from Wednesday until Friday, the government announced.

"The public are encouraged to form a guard of honour by lining the streets," it said.
The Union Buildings are the official seat of the South African government, where Mr Mandela was sworn in as the first black president in 1994.
At the memorial service on Tuesday, President Jacob Zuma announced that the Union Buildings would be renamed the Mandela Amphitheatre.
The Mandela family and selected VIP visitors will be able to view the body from 10:00 local time (08:00 GMT) on Wednesday.

Members of the public can file past from 12:00 to 17:30.

The public will then be able to view the body from 08:00 to 17:30 on Thursday and Friday.
'Great liberator' US President Barack Obama led the tributes to Mr Mandela at Tuesday's memorial service in rainy weather at the FNB stadium in Soweto.
He said the former South African president was a "giant of history", describing him as the last great liberator of the 20th Century.
"We will never see the likes of Nelson Mandela again. While I will always fall short of Madiba [Mr Mandela's clan name], he makes me want to be a better man."
On Saturday, Mr Mandela's remains will be transported to the Eastern Cape from Air Force Base Waterkloof in Pretoria by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
A military guard of honour will welcome the arrival. The coffin will then be placed on a gun carriage and then transported to a hearse.

The BBC's Clive Myrie spoke to a group of mourners who said they wanted to the see the late president "for the last time"

Mr Mandela's body will then be taken to his home village of Qunu, where the Thembu community will conduct a traditional ceremony.
A national day of reconciliation will take place on 16 December when a statue of Mr Mandela will be unveiled at the Union Buildings.
Big screens have been set up across the country to show the planned national events.








        source:bbcnews

Sport pays tribute to Mandela

Sport's greatest icons have paid their own tributes to South Africa's first black president Nelson Mandela, who has died aged 95.

Muhammad Ali said: "His was a life filled with purpose and hope - hope for himself, his country and the world.
"He made us realise we are our brother's keeper and that our brothers come in all colours."
Pele  said Mandela was "one of the most influential people in my life. He was my hero, my friend".

Iconic former boxer Ali added: "What I will remember most about Mr Mandela is that he was a man whose heart, soul and spirit could not be contained or restrained by racial and economic injustices, metal bars or the burden of hate and revenge.

"He inspired others to reach for what appeared to be impossible and moved them to break through the barriers that held them hostage mentally, physically, socially and economically.
"He taught us forgiveness on a grand scale. His was a spirit born free, destined to soar above the rainbows. Today his spirit is soaring through the heavens. He is now forever free."
Tiger Woods,  the world's number one golfer and a 14-time major winner, said: "You will always be in my heart Mr Mandela.
"Pop [Woods' father Earl] and I felt your aura when we met, I feel it today and I will feel it forever. You have done so much for humanity."
Former England captain David Beckham  said: "My heart goes out to the people in South Africa and Mr Mandela's family. We have lost a true gentleman and a courageous human being.
"It was truly an honour to have known a man who had genuine love for so many people. Rest in peace."
Sepp Blatter, head of world football governing body Fifa, said: "It is in deep mourning that I pay my respects to an extraordinary person.
"He was probably one of the greatest humanists of our time."

Former England captain Beckham met Mandela in Johannesburg in 2003

Blatter said of Mandela's impact on football's 2010 World Cup in South Africa: "When he was honoured and cheered by the crowd at Johannesburg's Soccer City stadium on 11 July 2010, it was as a man of the people, a man of their hearts.
"It was one of the most moving moments I have ever experienced. For him, the World Cup in South Africa truly was 'a dream come true'."
He added that there would be a minute's silence as a mark of respect ahead of the next round of international matches.
The Premier League confirmed a minute's applause would be held before all of the top flight matches taking place this Saturday, Sunday and Monday and the Football Association and Football League have also asked clubs taking part in their respective competitions to have a minute's applause before their matches this weekend.
Sport had been targeted for sanctions during the country's apartheid rule, leading to bans from the Olympic Games and various World Cups, and almost complete isolation by the time Mandela was released from his 27-year prison sentence in 1990.
Mandela said "sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people, in a way that little else does," and his African National Congress saw sport as a way to unite the nation.
South Africa were allowed to send a team to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and enter the 1994 football World Cup qualifiers, long before the change in the political system was complete.
"The International Olympic Committee wanted Mandela in their ranks, he was an icon of the world and at the opening of the Barcelona Games they treated him like a head of state," recalled Sam Ramsamy, former South African Olympic Committee president and now an IOC member.

The image of Mandela handing the Rugby World Cup to Pienaar has become part of South African history

After he was elected president in 1994, the 1995 Rugby World Cup was the showcase for Mandela's unifying agenda in South Africa.
One of the defining sporting images of the century was to follow in the final when, after South Africa's 15-12 extra-time victory against favourites New Zealand, Springboks captain Francois Pienaar was handed the trophy by Mandela.
In that moment, racially divided South Africa came together in a way unimaginable during the years the Nobel Peace Prize winner was incarcerated for his actions in the fight against apartheid.
South Africa rugby tweeted: "Rest in Peace Nelson Mandela. We will never forget the role you played in our country, in our sport, and for that we are eternally grateful."
South African golfer Ernie Els described Mandela as "the most amazing man I ever met. He was the father of our country and our continent".
Els recalled an afternoon when he and Woods were invited for tea by the former president. "He treated us like we were his two sons," the 44-year-old said. "His sincerity was amazing and it really left a mark on both of us."

England's record goalscorer Sir Bobby Charlton said: "Mr Mandela worked tirelessly all of his life for racial equality and his legacy will live on way beyond our lifetime.

"I feel blessed to have lived during his life span and privileged to have met him on a number of occasions."
South Africa cricketers Jacques Kallis and Shaun Pollock, former captain of the South Africa football team and Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar, South Africa rugby union players Joost van der Westhuizen and Bryan Habana and British Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton were among the many sportsmen to share their appreciation of the former president.
Cricket South Africa used their official Twitter account to say: "RIP Tata Mandela. It is because of you that a represented Proteas team can express their talent across the globe."
In Adelaide, a couple of hours after the news of Mandela's death was announced, a minute's silence was observed before the start of play on day two of the second Ashes Test between Australia and England.
Both sets of players wore black armbands in tribute to Mandela.
Six-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt also paid his respects: "One of the greatest human beings ever..May your soul rest in peace..The world's greatest fighter..."



source: bbcsport

US, New Zealand flags to fly at half-mast in honour of Mandela

 
President Barack Obama has ordered all United State flags to be flown at half-mast Thursday night to sunset on Monday in honour of South Africa anti-apartheid leader, Nelson Mandela, who died on Thursday as tributes from world leaders and notable people all over the world continue to pour in.
“Mandela no longer belongs to us. He belongs to the ages,” Mr. Obama said in a moving tribute moments after the death of former South African was announced.
Similarly the New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key, also ordered that the country’s flag in all government and public buildings be flown at half-mast on Thursday and on the day of his funeral.
Meanwhile, tributes have continued to pour in following the death of the man who is credited for reconciling white and black South Africans after the brutal apartheid era that saw the black majority suffering human rights abuses under successive white minority regimes.
F.W. De Klerk, South Africa’s last white president, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Mandela in 1993 described him “as a great unifier and a very, very special man in this regard beyond everything else he did.”
“It’s extremely sad and tragic news, were just been reminded about what an extraordinary and inspiring man Nelson Mandela was and my thoughts and prayers are with him and his family right now,” said Prince Williams, who learnt of Madiba’s (as Mandela is fondly called by South Africans) passing at the premiere of “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,” a new film about his life alongside Mandela’s two youngest daughters. His two daughters left the cinema as soon as they were told of their father’s death but asked that the screening be continued.
The film’s producer announced the news to the audience at the end of the screening and asked for a minute silence in honour of the fallen leader.
“He was a unifier from the moment he walked out of prison. He taught us how to come together and believe in ourselves.” said human rights activist and Nobel Prize winner, Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Mandela was born in 1918 he was sentenced to life in imprisonment by the apartheid government for his armed struggle against a government infamous for killing unarmed protesters. He spent 27 years in prison and after his release was elected first black South African president in 1993.



source: Primiumtimes

Icon of Anti-Apartheid Movement, Nelson Mandela Dies at 95

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Next Video Nelson Mandela in 60 Seconds

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Nelson Mandela, the former South African president whose stubborn defiance survived 27 years in prison and led to the dismantling of the country's racist and brutal apartheid system, has died. Mandela was 95 years old.

South Africa's president says Nelson Mandela has died at age 95. Jacob Zuma says "We've lost our greatest son," South African President Jacob Zuma said in announcing Mandela's death.

Mandela had a number of issues with his health in recent years including repeated hospitalizations with a chronic lung infection. Mandela had been listed in "serious but stable condition" after entering the hospital in June before returning to home to receive continued medical care.

In April, Mandela spent 18 days in the hospital due to a lung infection and was treated for gall stones in December 2012.

Mandela's public appearances had become increasingly rare as he dealt with his declining health.

His last public appearance was in July of 2010, when he attended the final match and closing ceremonies of the soccer World Cup held in South Africa.

Life of Nelson Mandela: See the Photos

In 2011, Mandela met privately with Michelle Obama when the first lady and her daughters traveled to South Africa.

Mandela and the Legacy He Leaves Behind

One of the giants of the 20th century, Mandela's career was marked not only by his heroic resistance to racism, but also by his poised and soft spoken demeanor.

After enduring nearly three decades of prison, much of it at hard labor in a lime quarry, Mandela emerged as a gentle leader who became South Africa's first black president. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership in ending apartheid without violence, and later became a global statesman who inspired millions people around the world.

Mandela was born in 1918, the son of a tribal leader, in a remote village in South Africa.

His tribal name, Rolihlahla, meant "troublemaker," a moniker Mandela would more than live up to in his lifetime.

In 1952, he emerged onto the national stage when he helped organize the first country-wide protests called the Defiance Campaign. That same year he opened the country's first black law firm.

Ruth Mopati, his secretary at the firm, wrote about the way he was then in the book "Mandela," saying, "He was able to relate to people with respect and therefore he was respected in return."

While Mandela's party, the African National Congress, had always been dedicated to non-violence, in 1960 the ANC was banned to prevent further protests after police shot dead 69 black protestors in what became known as the Sharpeville massacre.

The events radicalized the organization and led to the creation of the ANC military wing, for which Mandela became its first commander in 1961.

In 1962, Mandela was sent to prison on a charge of inciting a strike.

"At 1:30 in the morning, on March 30, I was awakened by sharp, unfriendly knocks at my door, the unmistakable signature of the police. 'The time has come,' I said to myself as I opened the door to find half a dozen armed security policemen," Mandela said.

Two years later, Mandela was sentenced to life in prison for sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the white government. Much of the next 27 years in prison were spent in the infamous Robben Island prison where he did hard labor in a lime quarry.

During his nearly three decades behind bars, Mandela would become a myth. The government even banned any use of Mandela's image or words, leaving a whole generation to grow up knowing little about the world's most famous political prisoner.

Nelson Mandela Teamed Up With White Leader F.W. de Klerk

Mandela spoke about his time in his autobiography: "A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones -- and South Africa treated its imprisoned African citizens like animals." 

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