News
South Africa: Thousands queue in Pretoria to bid farewell to Nelson Mandela
Among those filing past Mandela’s casket were singer Bono, model Naomi Campbell and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.; F.W. de Klerk, South Africa’s last white president who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Mandela, appeared to wipe away a tear as he passed the coffin.
The mood was more somber than jubilant, a marked departure from Tuesday’s memorial in Soweto, where the crowd danced and sang in the rain to honor Mandela’s memory.
Mandela’s death has diverted attention from the political bickering and scandals associated with the Zuma administration, but it has also underscored the gulf between South Africa’s first black president and its third.
Although South African newspapers flayed Zuma on Wednesday, they also reprimanded the crowd for booing during the service to commemorate a man famed for his ability to reconcile and forgive former enemies.
The heckling of Zuma could be a worrying sign for the ruling African National Congress (ANC) as it heads for polls next year. But having won nearly 66 percent of the vote in 2009, the ANC is unlikely to lose its majority next year.
Source: Reuters
