SOUTH AFRICA: Roads are closed in South Africa's Mthatha city, where the remains of former president Nelson Mandela will be arriving ahead of Sunday's burial

Record ID: 170658

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA: Roads are closed in South Africa's Mthatha city, where the remains of former president Nelson Mandela will be arriving ahead of Sunday's burial
  • Date: 14th December 2013
  • Summary: MTHATHA, SOUTH AFRICA (DECEMBER 14, 2014) (REUTERS) SUNRISE / POLICE CARS PARKED ON ROADSIDE POLICE STANDING NEXT TO BLOCKADE LIGHTS ON POLICE VEHICLE FLASHING POLICE SMILING WIDE OF POLICE AND BLOCKADE ON CLOSED STREET MAN LEANING AGAINST WALL AND WAITING WIDE OF EMPTY STREET WOMEN WAITING ON ROADSIDE / TRAFFIC PASSING NELSON MANDELA POSTER READING: "A NATION MOURNS AN IC
  • Embargoed: 29th December 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Africa
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA770V4291OHSGOJMDFG13BL2WR
  • Story Text: Streets were empty as police closed roads in and around the city of Mthatha where the remains of former President Nelson Mandela will be brought on Saturday (December 14).
    The body of South Africa's first black president, who died last week aged 95, will be flown to Mthatha in the Eastern Cape province later on Saturday.
    The cortege will drive through the city where mourners are expected to line the streets, and pass through picturesque villages that lead up to Qunu.
    But some people in the province say they felt ignored as the nation honoured one of their own.
    "The people in Pretoria were able to see the body more than we can. Whereas he was born here, he was raised here. It is downfall to us whereas we are only given a specific time to see the body than the people who saw him in Pretoria at the Union Buildings," said Mthatha resident Mandile Mthlate, echoing the sentiment of many in Eastern Cape province.
    The funeral will be held in Mandela's ancestral home in Qunu, 700 km (450 miles) south of Johannesburg.
    Tens of thousands of mourners, some breaking through police barriers, flocked to central government buildings in Pretoria on Friday (December 13) to say a personal goodbye to the anti-apartheid hero on the final day of his lying in state.
    About 100,000 mourners had paid homage to the former president, a global symbol of reconciliation, over the course of the three days with more than 50,000 paying their respects on Friday, the government said in a statement.
    The week of mourning since Mandela's death on December 5 has seen an unrivalled outpouring of emotion for the statesman and Nobel peace laureate, who was honoured by a host of world leaders at a memorial service in Johannesburg on Tuesday (December 10).
    But the homage to Mandela has not been without controversy.
    South African President Jacob Zuma, who is leading the national mourning ceremonies, was booed by a hostile crowd at Tuesday's memorial, a worrying sign for the ruling African National Congress (ANC) six months before elections.
    There has also been a storm of outrage and questions over a sign-language interpreter accused of miming nonsense at the same memorial. The signer has defended himself, saying he suffered a schizophrenic episode.
    Compared to Tuesday's mass memorial, Sunday's state funeral at Qunu will be a smaller affair focusing on the family, but dignitaries, including Britain's Prince Charles and a small group of African and Caribbean leaders, will also attend.
    Iranian Vice President Mohammad Shariatmadari will also be at Qunu, but former U.S. President Bill Clinton, who had been expected at the funeral, will not attend, a South African foreign ministry spokesman said.
    From the United States, civil rights activist Jessie Jackson was on the list to attend the funeral.
    The Qunu event will combine military pomp with traditional burial rituals of Mandela's Xhosa clan.
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