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The legend Nelson Mandela dies in Johannesburg
South Africans mourned the death of their first black president, weeping, singing and gathering near Nelson Mandela’s homes and other landmarks linked to him nationwide.
Mandela, 95, died Thursday in Johannesburg.
“We will always love Madiba for teaching us that it is possible to overcome hatred and anger in order to build a new nation and a new society,” President Jacob Zuma said Friday, referring to the revered statesman by his clan name.
In Soweto township, where Mandela lived before he was imprisoned for 27 years, giant posters of his face adorned streets. Residents surrounded his former red brick house on a busy street and sang songs of freedom.
On the grass near Mandela’s home in the Johannesburg suburb of Houghton, children spelled out with rocks “We love you Mandela.”
Others wept, lit candles and sang in celebration of a life well lived.
Tributes planned
A state funeral will be held December 15 in his ancestral hometown of Qunu in the Eastern Cape province.
Before the funeral, various events to honor him are planned in major cities.
Sunday will be a national day of prayer and reflection, and people will gather in places of worship to pray and meditate, Zuma said.
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The official memorial service will be held Tuesday in First National Bank Stadium in Johannesburg.
And his body will lie in state at the seat of government in Pretoria from Wednesday through next Friday.
Zuma announced the death late Thursday in a nationally televised address.
“Our nation has lost its greatest son, our people have lost a father,” he said. “Although we knew that this day would come, nothing can diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss.”
In recent years, Mandela had battled health issues that included multiple hospitalizations for treatment of a recurring lung infection.
Many South Africans didn’t get the news until Friday morning.
“I woke up and was shocked when I saw it on television,” said Wilson Mudau, a cabdriver in Johannesburg. “It’s sad, but what can we do? Let him rest in peace. It’s time … Madiba has worked so hard to unite us.”
