Pay your final respects
On Wednesday Nelson Mandela's casket returned to the place where he was sworn in as the first democratically-elected president of South Africa.
While military helicopters hovered above, emotions ran high as Nelson Mandela’s casket arrived in a black hearse, covered in a South African flag, at the Union buildings on Wednesday morning – the exact same place where the beloved international icon was sworn in as the country’s first democratically elected president almost 20 years ago.
Thousands of mourners lined the streets, forming a guard of honour as Madiba’s body arrived just before 08:00 from 1 Military Hospital. His casket was placed in the newly-named Nelson Mandela Amphitheatre, where it will lie in state until Friday.
Politicians and other VVIPs had the first opportunity to view the body while Winne Madikizela-Mandela, Madiba’s ex-wife, and his daughter Zinzi arrived at the Union Buildings at 10:42. The two women, dressed in black, waited at the steps of the Union Buildings before making their way to the amphitheatre.
Hundreds of local and foreign journalists also arrived, only to be denied access to the amphitheatre by officials who said that only a few pre-selected members of the media were allowed to report from where Mandela’s body had been placed for public viewing.
Instead, they were advised to go to the media tent which had been set up on the southern lawn of the Union Buildings from where they could watch proceedings on television screens.
Workers have been toiling around the clock since Saturday to get the Union Buildings ready to play host to its most revered guest ever. The construction of a special dome under which Mandela’s body will lie kept workers busy throughout the night.
The SABC, who obtained the sole right as official broadcaster of the event, were setting up their equipment at the back of the iconic old building.
It is expected that thousands will make their way to the Union Buildings this week to get a last glimpse of Madiba in a glass-covered casket and according to acting government spokesperson, Phumla Williams, it is expected that some 2 000 people will file past the body each hour.
She said that members of the public would only be allowed to view the body once, as security personnel would mark each mourner’s thumbnail with indelible ink.
It has been stressed by officials that access to the Union Buildings will be restricted and only those arriving in buses provided by the Tshwane metro will be allowed in.
The public was asked to make use of the park-and-ride facilities set up at the Tshwane Events Centre, the LC de Villiers Sports Facility and Fountains Valley.
The metro buses will drop mourners off near the dome, from where they can walk past the casket and sign a condolence book.
Those who cannot make it to the Union Buildings will have the opportunity to pay their final respects by lining the streets from 1 Military Hospital to the Union Buildings. the route Mandela’s casket will take, on Thursday and Friday.
The procession will travel via Kgosi Mampuru Street and into Madiba Street from where it will head to the Union Buildings.
On Monday, 16 December, when the country commemorates the Day of Reconciliation and also the 100th anniversary of the Union Buildings, the tallest statue of Mandela in the world will also be unveiled at the Union Buildings.
