Covering world’s biggest story is no walk in the park

Army personnel salute a procession in honour of former South African President Nelson Mandela as it leaves military hospital in Pretoria, South Africa. [Photo: AP]

By Machua Koinange

Johannesburg, South Africa: Covering the memorial of Africa’s greatest icon can be exciting and stressful at the same time. Mandela holds a very special place in the global political iconography, a man revered and respected in equal measure.

After all, his passing away is the biggest story in town.

Which would explain the amount of global attention his death has elucidated. Since the official announcement on Thursday night December 5, journalists from all over the world have been trooping to South Africa.

The first huddle for any journalist was to get accreditation. The South African Government had put their act together and set up a centre to process journalists request at NASREC centre (equivalent to the Nairobi Showground) where major exhibitions are held.

What they did not anticipate was the deluge of media personnel arriving into the country from every corner of the globe. Conservative estimates put the media number at 1,500 so far.

On the first and second day that journalists converged at NASREC, it was anguish, rage and impatience. Long lines of men and women clad with their cameras, laptops and tripod stands became the hallmark of the centre.

This was in spite the fact that the center was open 24 hours to provide media accreditation.

I along with the KTN team arrived on Sunday at 4pm and the line stretched up to the staircase leading to the hallway – about 100 yards, equal to a football pitch.

There were tired journalists on the queue already working on their laptops and filing stories. Most of their frustrated faces spoke volumes about the exercise. We studied the line, shared a look and shook our heads. Not today.

Empty steps

The exercise had even become a topical subject on twitter with journalists tweeting pictures of long lines and the frustrations of trying to get accredited. Jokes about the exercise were already doing the rounds.

First you had to register online, get an email confirmation and then physically present yourself at the center with a copy of your passport and media card from your news organization.

After reading some of the tweets, it seemed the process was a painful exercise that would perhaps stand in the way of covering the world biggest story.

So we devised a strategy to return – in the wee hours of the morning. The following day we were up by 5am and had our driver drop us at NASREC. Except for the security guards at the entrance gate, there was not a soul in sight.

We matched confidently up the empty steps into the empty corridors and into the empty hallway of the registration cent. Government officials from the department of communications were on hand to process our applications.

They looked tired but ready to help end our misery. In less than five minutes, we walked in and out with our accreditation badges proudly hanging on our necks.

The walk down the steps towards our car was the best feeling in days.