We joined thousands of people lined up on Wednesday to say goodbye to Nelson Mandela, whose body lay in state in Pretoria in the building where the anti-apartheid hero was inaugurated in 1994 as South Africa's first black president. The Union Buildings were designed 94 years ago by South Africa’s greatest architect, Herbert Baker, with the kind of racial blinkers that colored the country before Mandela’s revolution. Sited on the spot of an old Setswana court called Tshwane, after the river which flows below it, the two wings of the building are meant to symbolize the coming together of English and Afrikaner in one white “nation.” Mandela’s body now lies in the center of this arc. It has now, out of respect for the true union he created, been renamed the Nelson Mandela Amphitheater.
Images from the Queue
This was a festive and solemn occasion. We joined the queue at about 10:00 on Wednesday morning, in the shade of trees on the campus of Pretoria University where we waited to be bused to the Union Buildings. We boarded the bus to view the body at about 2:00 PM. During the course of the day, the crowd grew, and the mood included festive celebrations as well as quiet reflections among new friends whom we met in the queue.
When we arrived at the Union Buildings we were quietly directed under the canopy where his casket was guarded by members of the South Africa Defense Force. Our last view of Madiba was a fleeting glance at the casket, where he was resting in one of his trademark Mandela shirts, looking relaxed and serene. And then it was over. We have seen him for the last time. This memory closed the most meaningful chapter in my life that began with meeting him in person in the early days of the new democracy, through the celebrations of pride in the New South Africa, to this closing glance of my greatest hero. Rest in peace, Madiba.
Amandla!
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