Post date: Dec 14, 2013 1:23:39 PM
Emotions run high as ordinary South Africans gather to watch Nelson Mandela's body begin its journey to his ancestral village where it will be laid to rest.
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (DECEMBER 14, 2013) (REUTERS) - South Africans flocked to the streets on Saturday (December 14) to watch Nelson Mandela's body being flown to the Eastern Cape region, headed for a state funeral on Sunday (December 15) in his ancestral village.
At Nelson Mandela Square in Johannesburg, people laying flowers in front of a statue of the anti-apartheid icon also watched on a large screen as Mandela's body began its final journey to Qunu.On a large screen people watched an African National Congress (ANC) farewell ceremony for Mandela as his body was flown from Waterkloof airforce base in the capital of Pretoria.
"He was just an unbelievable man," said one mourner, Richard Wood.
"And we are all very blessed to have had him lead us through to the point where we are today. And our sincere wishes if we think that whoever follows can just keep all of those ideals alive," he added.
"He just brought peace and you know he just did the right thing. He was an amazing man, and I just wish there were a few more people like him to carry on," said Penny Wood, a British citizen who has lived in South Africa for 36 years.
Ordinary South Africans also gathered at the fence of the Waterkloof airforce base to get a glimpse of Mandela's body, escorted by fighter jets, being flown by South Africa's airforce. It is being taken to the family home at Qunu, a village among rolling green hills, 700 km (450 miles) south ofJohannesburg. There, a state funeral will take place on Sunday combining military pomp and traditional rites of Mandela's Xhosa abaThembu clan. It will be attended by family members, national leaders and foreign guests including Britain's Prince Charles and U.S. civil rights activist Reverend Jessie Jackson.
On Saturday, many people gathered in the streets of Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, from which Mandela's cortege will make its way to Qunu. Some of the mourners honoured him with singing and dancing amid a heavy security presence.
Mandela's departure comes after nine days of intense and emotion-charged mourning and memorial activities held in Johannesburg and Pretoria.
This included three days of lying in state at the Union Buildings in Pretoria from Wednesday (December 11) to Friday (December 13) in which more than 100,000 people queued for hours to say a last personal goodbye to the nation's first black president.