Songs, rain as world leaders pay respect to Nelson Mandela

World leaders keenly follow the memorial service

By MACHUA KOINANGE

JOHANNESBURG: Thousands of South Africans from all walks of life together with world leaders converged at FNB Stadium in Soweto to pay homage to fallen Africa’s greatest statesman, Nelson Mandela.

They stubbornly braved a heavy downpour that began early morning and continued throughout the ceremony.

The rains did little to dampen the festive atmosphere around the stadium. The occasion was described as the biggest event of the century - the world united to remember the life and sacrifices of a global icon. 

The mourners were joined by over 90 head of States from all over the world who attended the memorial service. The ceremony marked the first step towards Mandela’s last journey and final rest on Sunday in Qunu, Eastern Cape.

Mandela, who led the struggle to end apartheid, died last Thursday aged 95. Earlier, the crowds cheered when Mr Mandela’s widow, Graca Machel, dressed in black, led her family onto the stage set up for the family.

Mandela’s grandchildren used poetry to pay a special tribute to the world icon of peace and were cheered as they took to the stage.

President Uhuru Kenyatta led a Kenyan delegation that attended the service.  South Africa President Jacob Zuma in his keynote speech said Mandela believed in collective leadership and did not want to be seen as a “messiah” or “saint”.

General Thanduxolo Mandela, son to the deceased, spoke on behalf of family.  Presidents Barack Obama (US), Dilma Rousseff (Brazil), Hifikepunye Pohamba (Namibia), Pranab Mukherjee (India) and Raul Castro (Cuba) were among the speakers.

Others were UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Vice President Li Yuanchao (China), Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma (African Union Commission chair).

Archbishop Desmond Tutu closed the ceremony hours later with a passionate tribute. As the rains poured heavily, locals said that in African tradition, the rains signified that a great man had passed on.

The Master of Ceremony, Cyril Ramaphosa, the deputy president of the African National Congress aptly declared that the rains were a signal that “Nelson Mandela had walked into the gates of heaven.” The crowd cheered and ululated.

The planned fly past of helicopters and fighters at the national memorial service was cancelled due to rain. The atmosphere preceding and during the service was electric both inside and outside the stadium.

Men and women, young and old, mourners in crutches and wheelchairs marched bravely through the downpour. They wound their way down the street towards the FNB Stadium. They danced, sung and ululated.

Many times they chanted “Viva Mandela” and “Tata Madiba” inside the stadium that hosted the 2010 World cup finals. It was here in Soweto that Mandela called home before moving up the suburbs following his release in 1989.

Moreover, Soweto had in the past been the epicenter of brutal encounters between police and demonstrators that led to the loss of hundreds of lives, and yesterday, it had been turned into the center of global attention to celebrate and mourn a fallen giant.

ANC REGALIA

Mourners wore ANC colored shirts, blankets, wrap rounds, hats and improvised regalia with Mandela’s image imprinted on them. They walked the 3-kilometer stretch past the security restrictions to the stadium.

Security into the stadium was tight for an event of this magnitude with 11,000 soldiers deployed to assist the police.

There were very few tears, if any at all. Instead, the stadium had a carnival atmosphere akin to a dramatic football game with Bafana Bafana in the middle.  And the eulogy from the many who came to bid Madiba farewell were astoundingly similar.

Some woke up torn between going to work and honoring Mandela. Thomas Coutts, an employee with the Government revenue authority woke up at 5am ready to go to work. He put on his uniform and marched out but found himself unable to take the road to work.

He walked back to the house and picked his Five-years-old son Rael and joined the hum of thousands in buses singing liberations songs heading to the stadium.

“This is a moment in history, you cannot miss for the world. I needed to bring my son here because I wanted him to see what great leaders we have. I wanted to give him good memories, these are memories that will always be with him because he needs to be an example to others,” Coutts told The Standard.

He added: “I want my son to have the same values in life as Mandela. We start instilling values in them, and they will grow in them.”

Groups of singing crowds marched into the stadium singing at the top of their voices. It mirrored an ANC political rally of yesteryears were liberation songs, gumboot and the toi toi dance ruled supreme.

In the end, there were groups of singers and dancers marching through the stadium that reverberated, a strange and unusual confluence of anguished mourners who expressed their grief in the only way they know best – song and dance.

The crowd inside the stadium stamped their feet and sang as images of Mandela were played on the two giant billboards overlooking the football pitch. Three tents had been set up at the eastern end of the pitch.