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Monday 9 December 2013
MEMORIAL PROGRAMME
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Sunday 8 December 2013
MEMORIAL SERVICES
Memorial services
The programme will also include tributes by Heads of State from the various regions of the globe, the continent and representatives of international and regional organisations. Eminent persons will also address the gathering.
Saturday 7 December 2013
MANDELA FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS AND SERVICES
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela will be laid to rest during an official state funeral, which will take place over a period of 10 days.
Former president Nelson Mandela will be buried at Qunu in the Eastern Cape on 15 December 2013, following an official memorial service on 10 December at FNB stadium in Johannesburg.
South African flags at all official buildings will fly at half-mast throughout the period.
The public will be given ample opportunity to pay their last respects to former President Mandela. There are public venues throughout the country that will serve as memorial centres where people will be able to participate in public mourning events.
Books of condolence are being circulated to all municipalities and government departments. People can also post tributes, record memories and express their emotions at the Government Facebook page.
Books of condolence will also be accessible at our diplomatic missions around the world in the coming days.
Memorial service - 10 December 2013
The public and media are welcome to attend a memorial service for former President Mandela at the FNB Stadium on 10 July. The time of the service will be announced later.
About 80 000 people will be able to attend the memorial service on a first come first serve basis.
The public may also watch the procession from selected stadiums in all nine provinces as it will be broadcast live. More information will be made available.
Lying in State - 11 to 13 December 2013
South Africans and selected international visitors and guests will be able to view President Mandela’s remains at the Union Buildings for three days from Wednesday, 11 December.
President Mandela’s remains will be transported daily between 1 Military Hospital, Thaba Tshwane, and the Union Buildings.
Details of this route and times will be provided in due course. Government invites mourners to line this route and form a public guard of honour for Tata Madiba when the remains are transported.
Again, we call on members of the public to cooperate with the authorities to ensure that this event is dignified and secure.
Away from the memorial route, members of the public wishing to pay their final respects will be shuttled to the Union Buildings from two central venues in Tshwane that will be announced in due course.
Only mourners who report to these venues will be allowed to visit the Union Buildings and view the remains.
Mourners are advised that cameras, including cellphones will not be allowed at the Union Buildings. Mourners are advised not to bring cameras and cellphones in their possession.
Transporting of remains to Qunu - Saturday, 14 December 2013
On Saturday, 14 December, the former President’s remains will be transported to the Eastern Cape from Air Force Base Waterkloof in Pretoria, where the ruling party will bid Madiba farewell.
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) will take charge of this leg of the State funeral.
A military Guard of Honour will welcome the mortal remains which will be draped in the national flag.
Upon arrival at Mthatha Airport the SANDF contingent will perform the ceremonial removal of the Mortal Remains form the aircraft.
The coffin will be placed on a gun carriage and then transported into a hearse.
The SANDF will sound the national anthem while the Guard of Honour will Present Arms and salute.
The mortal remains will thereafter be transported to the family home in Qunu, where the Thembu community will conduct a traditional ceremony.
State funeral service at Qunu - 15 December 2013
The funeral service at Qunu will conclude the 10 day State funeral period.
The Mandela family, the President and Cabinet, Heads of State, and other dignitaries will be in attendance.
The SANDF will again be charged with draping the coffin. A National Salute will be performed and the National Anthem will be played.
Road closures
FNB stadium
- N1 and Rand Show Road
- N1 and Soweto Highway
- N1 and 17
- N1 and Nasrec offramp
- Greenwood Rd and Booysens Reserve, and
- Nasrec and Main Reef Roads
Cape Town
Affected road | Between | Restriction | Times |
Adderley Street | Bureau and Strand | Closed – deliveries permitted | 07:00 – 22:00 |
Castle Street | Strand and Darling | Road closed | 07:00 – 22:00 |
Church Street | Adderley and Burg | Road closed | 07:00 – 22:00 |
Corporation Street | Darling and Longmarket | Road closed | 00:00 – 24:00 |
Longmarket and Caledon | Closed – resident and business access only | 00:00 – 24:00 | |
Darling Street | Adderley and Plein | Closed – deliveries permitted | 07:00 – 22:00 |
Plein and Buitenkant | Road closed | 00:00 – 24:00 | |
Buitenkant and Tennant | Closed – resident and business access only | 09:00 – 20:00 | |
Hout Street | Burg and Adderley | Road closed | 07:00 – 22:00 |
Longmarket Street | Burg and Plein | Closed – resident and business access only | 07:00 – 22:00 |
Plein and Corporation | Closed – resident and business access only | 00:00 – 24:00 | |
Lower Plein Street | Strand and Darling | Road closed | 07:00 – 22:00 |
Castle and Darling | Closed – deliveries permitted | 00:00 – 24:00 | |
Parade Street | Darling and Longmarket | Road closed | 00:00 – 24:00 |
Longmarket and Caledon | Closed – resident and business access only | 00:00 – 24:00 | |
Parliament Street | Darling and Longmarket | Road closed | 07:00 – 22:00 |
Plein Street | Darling and Longmarket | Road closed | 07:00 – 22:00 |
Sir Lowry Road | Tennant and Darling | Closed – resident and business access only | 09:00 – 20:00 |
No parking will be permitted on the above roads during the indicated times. Access to and egress from parking garages will be allowed for permit-holders.
Detailed information is available from the Transport Information Centre on 0800 65 64 63 or atwww.capetown.gov.za
OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT OBITUARY
Obituary: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
18 July 1918 - 5 December 2013
It is with deep sadness that the Government has learnt of the passing of the father of South Africa’s democracy – Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela on 5 December 2013.
He passed on peacefully in the company of his family around 20h50 on the 5th of December 2013.
The man who was to become one of the world's greatest icons was born in Mvezo, Transkei on 18 July 1918, to Nongaphi Nosekeni and Henry Gadla Mandela. His father was the key counsellor/advisor to the Thembu royal house.
After his father's death in 1927, the young Rolihlahla became the ward of Chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo, the acting regent of the Thembu nation. It was at the Thembu royal homestead that his personality, values and political views were shaped. There can be no doubt that the young man went on to bring about some of the most significant and remarkable changes in South African history and politics.
It is through Mandela that the world cast its eyes on South Africa and took notice of the severe and organized repression of black South Africans. Yet it was also through Mandela that the world would learn the spirit of endurance, the triumph of forgiveness and the beauty of reconciliation. Indeed, the story of Nelson Mandela is so much the story of South Africa.
When he was only 25 years old, Nelson Mandela joined the African National Congress. His political career would span decades more – as he himself said: "The struggle is my life." The young Mandela also qualified and practiced as a lawyer.
Together with Oliver Tambo he opened the first black legal practice in Johannesburg.
Mandela married Evelyn Nomathamsanqa Mase in 1945. They were married for fourteen years and had four children: Thembekile (1946), Makaziwe (1947), who died at nine months, Makgatho (1951) and Makaziwe (1954). The couple divorced in 1958.
He was instrumental in the formation of the radical African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) in the 1940s which was determined to change the face of politics. Mandela was elected the league's National Secretary in 1948 and President in 1952.
Much of the years that followed saw Mandela deeply involved in activism, rallying for political change against the increasingly aggressive apartheid government. He was a key player in the ANC's Campaign for the Defiance of Unjust Laws in 1952 and the Treason Trial in 1961. During this time he was incarcerated several times under the apartheid laws and banned from political activity. Realising that the ANC needed to prepare for more intensive struggle, he became an instrumental force behind the formation of a new section of the liberation movement, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), as an armed nucleus with a view to preparing for armed struggle. Mandela was commander in chief of MK.
On 14 June 1958 Nelson and Winnie Madikizela were married at a local Bizana church. They had two children, Zenani (1958) Zindziswa (1960). In April 1992 they were separated and finally divorced in 1996.
He left the country in 1962 and traveled abroad to arrange guerilla training for members of Umkhonto weSizwe. On his return to South Africa he was arrested for illegal exiting the country and incitement to strike. Mandela decided to represent himself in court.
While on trial, Mandela was charged with sabotage in the Rivonia Trial. This is his famous statement from the dock made in 1964: "I have fought against White domination, and I have fought against Black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
In the same year Mandela and the other accused were sentenced to life imprisonment in the Rivonia Trial and sent to Robben Island, near Cape Town. While in prison, Mandela rejected offers made by his jailers to be released on condition that he renounced violence. "Prisoners cannot enter into contracts. Only free men can negotiate," he said. He served a total of 27 years in prison for his conviction to fight apartheid and its injustices.
Released on 11 February 1990, Mandela plunged wholeheartedly into his life's work, striving to attain the goals he and others had set out almost four decades earlier. In 1991, at the first national conference of the ANC held inside South Africa after being banned for decades, Nelson Mandela was elected President of the ANC while his lifelong friend and colleague, Oliver Tambo, became the organisation's National Chairperson.
In a life that symbolises the triumph of the human spirit, Nelson Mandela accepted the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize (along with FW de Klerk) on behalf of all South Africans who suffered and sacrificed so much to bring peace to our land.
The era of apartheid formally came to an end on the April 27, 1994, when Nelson Mandela voted for the first time in his life – along with his people. However, long before that date it had become clear, even before the start of negotiations at the World Trade Centre in Kempton Park, that the ANC was increasingly charting the future of South Africa.
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was inaugurated as President of a democratic South Africa on 10 May 1994.
This world icon worked tirelessly even after the achievement of democracy in South Africa to continue improving lives. Even as he retired from politics, his attention shifted to social issues such as HIV and AIDs and the wellbeing of the nation's children. As a testimony to his sharp political intellect, wisdom and unrelenting commitment to make the world a better place, Mandela formed the prestigious group called The Elders – an independent group of eminent global leaders, who offer their collective influence and experience to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering and promote the shared interests of humanity.
Mr Mandela is survived by his wife Graça, three daughters and 18 grandchildren
Thursday 5 December 2013
A Final Goodbye to a truly inspiring Man
Saturday 19 October 2013
What can you do on Mandela Day?
What is Mandela Day
Nelson Mandela International Day (or Mandela Day) is an annual international day in honour of Nelson Mandela, celebrated each 18 July (on Mandela's birthday). The day was officially declared by the United Nations in November 2009, with the first UN Mandela Day held on 18 July 2010. However, other groups began celebrating Mandela Day on 18 July 2009.
On 27 April 2009, the 46664 concerts and the Nelson Mandela Foundation invited the global community to join them in support of an official Mandela Day. Mandela Day is not meant as a public holiday, but as a day to honour the legacy of Nelson Mandela, South Africa's former President, and his values, through volunteering and community service.
Mandela Day is a global call to action that celebrates the idea that each individual has the power to transform the world, the ability to make an impact.
The Mandela Day campaign message is:
"Nelson Mandela has fought for social justice for 67 years. We’re asking you to start with 67 minutes."
"We would be honoured if such a day can serve to bring together people around the world to fight poverty and promote peace and reconciliation," according to a statement issued on Mandela's behalf.
To mark the first global celebration of Mandela Day on 18 July 2009, Mandela's 91st birthday, a series of educational, art exhibit, fund-raising and volunteer events leading up to a concert at Radio City Music Hall on 18 July were organized by the 46664 concerts and the Nelson Mandela Foundation. In November 2009, the United Nations General Assembly formally declared 18 July to be "Nelson Mandela International Day".