Thousands see off Nelson Mandela in his ancestral village of Qunu

KAMPALA

Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, was laid to rest yesterday after a state funeral filled with tearful eulogies and strident vows to pursue his ideals of equality and justice.

Mandela’s casket was buried at his family plot in his rural boyhood home of Qunu, watched by his widow Graca Machel, ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, other family members and around 450 selected guests.

The interment followed a ceremonial state funeral that ran well over its allotted two hours, as speaker after speaker paid emotional tribute to the man who led South Africa out of the apartheid era. “The person who lies here is South Africa’s greatest son,” said ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa in an opening address.

A 21-gun salute and full military honour guard had escorted Mandela’s coffin to the marquee where 4,500 mourners said their final goodbyes. His flag-draped casket was placed on cow skins, surrounded by 95 candles -- each signifying a year of his extraordinary life.

Mandela prison mates
The frail and ageing leaders of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle also attended: George Bizos, Desmond Tutu and Ahmed Kathrada, whose voice broke with as he delivered a eulogy for his old friend.

“I first met him 67 years ago,” said Kathrada, who along with Mandela was sentenced to life in prison in 1963. He recalled his fellow inmate as a powerful amateur boxer who could cope far better than others with the physical challenge of hard labour. “What I saw in hospital was a man helpless and reduced to a shadow of himself,” he said struggling not to break down. “We can salute you as a fighter for freedom. Farewell my dear brother, my mentor, my leader.

“Now I’ve lost a brother my life is in a void and I don’t know who turn to.”
His words left many in tears among the invited guests, whose ranks included foreign dignitaries and celebrities ranging from Britain’s Prince Charles to US talk show queen Oprah Winfrey. The funeral closed the final chapter on a towering public figure whose courage and moral fortitude turned him into a global symbol of freedom and hope.

During 10 days of mourning, hundreds of thousands of South Africans had turned out across the country to bid the founding father of their “Rainbow Nation” farewell.

Mandela, a father figure
They braved a rain-sodden memorial in Soweto and queued for three days to see his remains as they lay in state at Pretoria’s Union Buildings.

For 50 million compatriots, Mandela was not just a president, but a moral guide who led them away from a racial conflict. “Ever since he passed away, I wanted to walk the journey with him,” said Mr Pascal Moloi, 52, who made the trip from Johannesburg to Qunu.

For the rest of the world he was a charismatic leader of the anti-apartheid struggle. While Mandela had been critically ill for months, the announcement of his death on December 5 still sent a spasm through a country struggling to carry forward his vision of a harmonious multi-racial democracy of shared prosperity.
‘South Africa will continue to rise’

During the funeral, South African President Jacob Zuma told the country to carry on his legacy. “One thing we can assure you of today Tata (father), as you take your final steps, is that South Africa will continue to rise.

“South Africa will continue to rise because we dare not fail you,” Mr Zuma said.
After the ceremony, Mandela’s coffin was transported to a graveyard sitting on the sprawling family estate Mandela built in Qunu after his release from prison in 1990.

“It was in that village that I spent some of the happiest years of my boyhood and whence I trace my earliest memories,” he wrote in his autobiography.
As the coffin was lowered into the ground, a formation of military aircraft -- six jets with one spot left vacant in a symbol of a missing man -- flew overhead.
After a life spent in the public spotlight, Mandela’s final rites were a private affair.

A family deprived of their husband and father during his 27 years in apartheid prisons and many more years in public service seized it as an intimate last goodbye to a man who meant much to millions.

A live television broadcast followed the coffin to the graveside but was cut after several minutes in line with the family’s wishes.

Overseen by male members of his clan in line with traditional Xhosa rites, the burial included the slaughter of an ox -- a ritual marking of a life’s milestones.
Mandela was referred to throughout as Dalibhunga, the name given to him at the age of 16 after undergoing the initiation to adulthood.

Mandela’s village bids solemn farewell

Perched above the pomp and ceremony of Nelson Mandela’s state funeral, villagers and visitors to his rural home said a final goodbye among the open spaces and grasslands of his boyhood.

A few hundred people watched a live broadcast on a big screen, framed by sweeping views overlooking Mandela’s home in Qunu village. “I felt that I was a part of it,” said local Samora Makasi, 35, sitting in an open-walled tent as presidents, foreign dignitaries and celebrities gathered below.

“I could have watched it at home but I wanted to be around people,” Makasi said.
Qunu has, in the 10 days since his death was announced on December 5, been a hive of activity as funeral organisers rushed to construct a venue for the 4,500 people who wanted to attend the event.

The usual rural tranquility was interrupted by the constant thumping whir of military helicopters and convoys bringing in troops as the village was placed under a security clampdown. “I’m sad. It’s unbelievable that Mandela today is no longer with us,” said Qunu resident Monde Sikweza, 48, as the sound of a 21-gun salute echoed over the village. “This long walk to freedom is gone now,” he said, holding a framed photograph of Mandela.

Traditionally, funerals are open to anybody, but the South African government had limited the number of guests, citing security concerns and space constraints.
“I am happy watching this on television. My eyes are bad. I can see it better this way,” said villager Dickson Gangatele, 73.

Many watching in the viewing area had come from out of town.
“Ever since he passed away, I wanted to walk the journey with him,” said Pascal Moloi, 52, who came from Johannesburg to watch with Mandela’s fellow villagers.
Watching in the village, with a wide view of the valley below, made him “feel much more connected” to Mandela, he said, saying afterwards he thought the ceremony, which was over two hours long, was “brilliant”.
But local Nonkuleleko Mfoboza, 45, felt differently.

“We want to be there as residents, but now there is no space for us,” she said.
Several of the speeches drew standing ovations, but Mfoboza gave her stamp of approval to only a handful.

While the formal section of the state funeral was broadcast live to the world, the burial rituals were closed to the public on the wishes of the Mandela family.
“We really don’t know whether there will be access to the grave. We are watching this from a distance,” said Milisa Manxiwa, 34, sitting on a chair next to the main road near the funeral, draped in a South African flag.

As Mandela’s final gun salutes rolled over the valley and an air force flypass thundered overhead, a group of men in traditional Zulu dress, carrying sticks and shields, cried out in succession.

“He was an old man, he deserves his rest, and I think it’s been overdue,” said Ntsika Madyibi, 35, who came from a neighbouring village to watch.