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| Body of Nelson Mandela Lies in State in Pretoria | Body of Nelson Mandela Lies in State in Pretoria |
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| PRETORIA, South Africa — With hundreds of dignitaries and thousands of ordinary South Africans filing past, the body of Nelson Mandela was lying in state in its coffin on Wednesday below the sweeping facade of the Union Buildings in Pretoria, the seat of official power where he was sworn in 19 years ago as South Africa’s first black president. | |
| With his head and shoulders visible under a glass cover, and his body dressed in a brown shirt, his face — unmistakeable to many around the world since his release from prison in 1990 after 27 years incarceration — seemed serene. | |
| But the sheer number of South Africans hoping to catch a glimpse of the body appeared to have overwhelmed authorities with thousands lined up at screening sites around the city to board buses to the Union Buildings. At the University of Pretoria sports facilities, a single white tent the size of a cottage was intended to service a line that wound for hundreds of yards around the campus. | |
| “You can’t have one small tent to treat all the people,” said Thabi Taukobong, 21. “Their planning was not on point at all.” | |
| She was part of a group that had been waiting from early in the morning and marched back and forth before being told to join the back of a queue of people waiting for a bus. At another designated assembly points, in the Pretoria showground, pandemonium broke out as thousands queued and tried to shove their way past police. Lines had been building since the early hours in the gathering heat of the African summer. | |
| Mr. Mandela’s body is to lie in state for three days before his funeral on Sunday, the latest solemn moment in the nation’s mourning for its former president and towering moral authority. | |
| A day after tens of thousands of South Africans joined world leaders including President Obama at a sometimes rambunctious national memorial ceremony in Soweto, the mood was more muted, a moment when the reality of Mr. Mandela’s death finally turned from a notion to a reality, from celebration of his life to grief at his death. | A day after tens of thousands of South Africans joined world leaders including President Obama at a sometimes rambunctious national memorial ceremony in Soweto, the mood was more muted, a moment when the reality of Mr. Mandela’s death finally turned from a notion to a reality, from celebration of his life to grief at his death. |
| President Jacob G. Zuma was among the first mourners to view the coffin along with family members including Mr. Mandela’s widow, Graça Machel, and his former wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who dabbed at their eyes with white handkerchiefs. President Robert G. Mugabe of Zimbabwe bowed as he passed the coffin and the white-uniformed guards, all four of them junior naval officers, at each end of it. | |
| Many of those viewing the body , such as F.W. de Klerk, the country’s last white president with whom Mr. Mandela shared the 1993 Nobel peace prize, and former President Thabo Mbeki, had been on the podium during Tuesday’s memorial in Soweto. Live television coverage showed celebrities such as the musician Bono filing past. As the file-past unfolded, temperatures soared in the South African summer. | |
| Mr. Mandela died on Thursday at age 95. On Tuesday, he was celebrated by Mr. Obama as the last great liberator of the 20th century. | Mr. Mandela died on Thursday at age 95. On Tuesday, he was celebrated by Mr. Obama as the last great liberator of the 20th century. |
| On the esplanade of the pale stone Union Buildings, a military honor guard formed up as the coffin arrived under bright skies — a marked contrast with the rain that drenched Tuesday’s ceremony in Soweto. Mandla Mandela, Mr. Mandela’s grandson, led family mourners as a military band played the national anthem, Nkosi Sikelele Afrika, or God Bless Africa. | On the esplanade of the pale stone Union Buildings, a military honor guard formed up as the coffin arrived under bright skies — a marked contrast with the rain that drenched Tuesday’s ceremony in Soweto. Mandla Mandela, Mr. Mandela’s grandson, led family mourners as a military band played the national anthem, Nkosi Sikelele Afrika, or God Bless Africa. |
| The coffin is to be transported for three successive days from a military mortuary to the Union Buildings before the body is flown to the Eastern Cape for the state funeral in Mr. Mandela’s childhood home of Qunu. | The coffin is to be transported for three successive days from a military mortuary to the Union Buildings before the body is flown to the Eastern Cape for the state funeral in Mr. Mandela’s childhood home of Qunu. |
| On its way to the Union Buildings, the black hearse carrying the coffin past knots of well-wishers on the streets of Pretoria was escorted by a phalanx of police motorcycle outriders. | On its way to the Union Buildings, the black hearse carrying the coffin past knots of well-wishers on the streets of Pretoria was escorted by a phalanx of police motorcycle outriders. |
| The authorities had urged South Africans to form a “people’s” honor guard along the route of the cortege. | The authorities had urged South Africans to form a “people’s” honor guard along the route of the cortege. |
| For the public, the lying-in-state was tightly controlled, with mourners shuttled in aboard hot and packed buses. | |
| At the University of Pretoria, Kyle Garth, 39, from Cincinnati, Oh., said he held out little hope that the people at the back of the line would get to see Mr. Mandela on Wednesday. He, his South African wife and their two children had already been waiting for over five hours and still hadn’t made it into the tent. But his spirits were still high. | |
| “The wait is definitely worth it to me,” Mr. Garth said. Without Mr. Mandela and the end of apartheid restrictions, he said, his wife never could have left South Africa and they never would have met. While the organization might not be very good, he added, inching forward as the line shuffled on a bit, “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.” | |
| Many streets in the capital were closed to normal traffic as the cortege passed by. Some people bowed their heads. Others raised their fists in the militant salute Mr. Mandela favored. Women gathered to sing his praises. | Many streets in the capital were closed to normal traffic as the cortege passed by. Some people bowed their heads. Others raised their fists in the militant salute Mr. Mandela favored. Women gathered to sing his praises. |
| As has often been the case in the days since Mr. Mandela died, the crowd awaiting the cortege was festive and joyous, singing and waving small South African flags. | As has often been the case in the days since Mr. Mandela died, the crowd awaiting the cortege was festive and joyous, singing and waving small South African flags. |
| Then the hearse — a black Mercedes van with glass side panels — drove by, the coffin clearly visible. It was as though the procession drew the air along with it, leaving behind silence and a sense of finality. | Then the hearse — a black Mercedes van with glass side panels — drove by, the coffin clearly visible. It was as though the procession drew the air along with it, leaving behind silence and a sense of finality. |
| “I think it sunk in that he was really gone when you saw the casket inside,” said Patricia Ramahanelo, 29, who works in a government records office here. “You think he’s there but immediately when you see the coffin it’s done. He’s gone. He’s no more.” | “I think it sunk in that he was really gone when you saw the casket inside,” said Patricia Ramahanelo, 29, who works in a government records office here. “You think he’s there but immediately when you see the coffin it’s done. He’s gone. He’s no more.” |
| Ms. Ramahanelo said she was not sure she could bring herself to view the body. “I never saw him alive. I’m not sure I can see him for the first time...” her words trailing off. | Ms. Ramahanelo said she was not sure she could bring herself to view the body. “I never saw him alive. I’m not sure I can see him for the first time...” her words trailing off. |
| “I hope we live the legacy that he left for us,” said Zelda Woodgate, 43, who works for the Labor Department. “It’s sad but he’s gone to rest.” | “I hope we live the legacy that he left for us,” said Zelda Woodgate, 43, who works for the Labor Department. “It’s sad but he’s gone to rest.” |
| Ayanda Malinga credited Mr. Mandela with the changes in South Africa that enabled her to secure a job at a pharmaceutical company and the freedom to choose where she lives — a right denied under apartheid. “I would be restricted where I wanted to go,” said Ms. Malinga, 28. “I wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t sacrificed for us.” | Ayanda Malinga credited Mr. Mandela with the changes in South Africa that enabled her to secure a job at a pharmaceutical company and the freedom to choose where she lives — a right denied under apartheid. “I would be restricted where I wanted to go,” said Ms. Malinga, 28. “I wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t sacrificed for us.” |
| Along the route of the cortege, some conversations reflected uncertainty about the future, particularly after the booing of President Zuma at Tuesday’s memorial service. Several said the memorial was not the place for such a display but none disputed the sentiment. | |
| In death, Mr. Mandela seems to loom ever larger, his flaws sanded away in the many tributes, his image burnished for posterity, his successors smaller in comparison. | In death, Mr. Mandela seems to loom ever larger, his flaws sanded away in the many tributes, his image burnished for posterity, his successors smaller in comparison. |
| A tall young woman, buoyant before the cortege passed, turned suddenly somber. “How can I say? It’s a most painful thing,” she said, shaking her head. “I know he was old, but this country without him? We may be lost.” | A tall young woman, buoyant before the cortege passed, turned suddenly somber. “How can I say? It’s a most painful thing,” she said, shaking her head. “I know he was old, but this country without him? We may be lost.” |
| The Union Buildings lie on the highest point of the hills above Pretoria. The edifice, completed in 1913, was the central administrative headquarters of the Union of South Africa, the forerunner of the Republic of South Africa created in 1961. | The Union Buildings lie on the highest point of the hills above Pretoria. The edifice, completed in 1913, was the central administrative headquarters of the Union of South Africa, the forerunner of the Republic of South Africa created in 1961. |
| The building, with its sweeping, winged facade dominating the leafy bowl of the capital below, has been the seat of power since it was built, an emblem of white authority until the country’s first democratic elections brought Mr. Mandela to power. But the building has also been the target of protests, most notably in 1956 when thousands of women converged on it in a demonstration against the pass laws — a cornerstone of apartheid. | The building, with its sweeping, winged facade dominating the leafy bowl of the capital below, has been the seat of power since it was built, an emblem of white authority until the country’s first democratic elections brought Mr. Mandela to power. But the building has also been the target of protests, most notably in 1956 when thousands of women converged on it in a demonstration against the pass laws — a cornerstone of apartheid. |
| The day was one of many reminiscences freighted with sadness. Speaking on the BBC from the Union Buildings, George Bizos, a close friend and lawyer, recalled with a choking voice that Mr. Mandela’s last words to him as the former president weakened this year had been to tell Mr. Bizos not to forget his jacket after a lunch visit. | The day was one of many reminiscences freighted with sadness. Speaking on the BBC from the Union Buildings, George Bizos, a close friend and lawyer, recalled with a choking voice that Mr. Mandela’s last words to him as the former president weakened this year had been to tell Mr. Bizos not to forget his jacket after a lunch visit. |
Lydia Polgreen and Nicholas Kulish reported from Pretoria, South Africa, and Alan Cowell from London. | Lydia Polgreen and Nicholas Kulish reported from Pretoria, South Africa, and Alan Cowell from London. |