Hundreds of mourners pay homage to hero

By Machua Koinange In Houghton, Johannesburg

South Africa: There was a euphoric carnival atmosphere outside Nelson Mandela’s home in Houghton as mourners flocked to pay tribute to Africa’s greatest icon.

There were very few tears and plenty of dancing, singing and celebrating as South Africa began the painful journey of coming to terms with the loss of the nation’s greatest opponent of apartheid and the country’s first black president.

Heavy police presence and the cacophony of singing and dancing wafted over the junction of 12th De Laan Avenue and 4th Street yesterday afternoon.

The quiet street where millionaire neighbours walk their dogs in the evenings had been transformed. Yesterday it hissed with the thundering, monotonous sounds of tapping feet, drums and whistles as mourners gathered in lionising a great man.

Hundreds of mourners paid their respects on a makeshift wall elegantly adorned with thousands of flowers, cards, pictures and written messages of support for Mandela, who passed away late Thursday night.

And those who filed the street, streaming like ants towards the barricaded tan-coloured Mandela home, were a mosaic of a rainbow nation. The house had suddenly become a temple.

The crowds vividly reflected the diversity of the country; white, black, Asian, coloured and even tourists. They included foreigners from as far away as Zimbabwe, Tanzania and even Somalia who have now made South Africa their home. They trekked the 300m to reach the wall of flowers.

The upmarket neighbourhood is known for manicured lawns and well laid out clean streets. Mandela, who grew up and lived in Soweto, a dusty township outside Johannesburg, enjoyed his sunset years in a section of the city where houses go for an average of Sh50 million.

Houghton is equivalent to Nairobi’s Muthaiga, an old English neighbourhood founded in 1910 and where many English settlers lived in English countryside-style houses. Many of the homes have been brought down and replaced with swanky palatial homes that appeal to the rich.

“We are not here to mourn, we are here to celebrate,” Trephile Sibande, a staunch ANC supporter adorned with the party colours declares. She had brought her two children because she “wanted them to be part of history”. Her father was in exile with some of the leading figures in the struggle.

“I want my children to know him. They never saw him because he was very old. I feel good that he managed to bring this country together and make it one without looking at colour. He made peace so that no one can discriminate against the other, whether black or white. For him there was no colour.”

Mandela, Sibande said, was in prison for 27 years. “Yet he never came out angry. He still had a smile. Moving forward South Africa will continue changing for the better. He had to rest, but he left the country better and now we have to continue. People will get closer regardless of colour.”

Mandela’s grandson Andile Mandela came out briefly and stood by watching the thousands of flowers and cards. He declined to speak to The Standard, politely saying that the family had a spokesman and he did not want to speak.

The walls of adjoining properties are adorned with ANC posters declaring: “Your life remains our inspiration.” There were hawkers selling ANC merchandise ranging from hats to T-shirts for an average of Sh1,000.

Chants and screams

A battery of media trucks and satellite antenna adorned the street along with the hum of running generators.

What was unmistakably missing were the chants of anguish and screams of sadness that adorn most funeral sites across Africa. This was different. The street was laid out like a carnival, complete with mobile toilets and plenty of singing and dancing.

Others were less optimistic about the country moving forward. “I think it will be tough,” says Shirley Simwama who brought her whole family – husband Humphrey and children Mambo and Katleho to the home. “We are here because I want my two kids to know where Mandela was staying and to feel the atmosphere today and understand what is going on here.”

Her husband said: “I wanted to witness the celebration of the life of our father, Tata Mandela. I also wanted to introduce my children to who the man was.”

Jonathan Goldberg, a white businessman who was a neighbour of Mandela’s, brought his children to visit the house he had been to often as his uncle owned the property before Mandela.