Pretoria - With less than five hours to go before the cut-off time to view Madiba’s remains as they lie in state at the Union Buildings, throngs of grieving South Africans are still standing in long queues stretching across the Fountains Valley Resort where the City of Tshwane has implemented a park-and–ride facility.
Young and old, rich and poor, black and white South Africans are standing in long and winding queues in the hopes of getting on a bus to the Union Buildings to catch a last glimpse of their late statesman.
Carrying umbrellas to protect themselves from the scorching sun, South Africans are demonstrating their love and respect for Madiba by singing the popular struggle song “Mandela my President”.
Traffic from the city centre to the Fountains Valley park-and-ride is bumper to bumper from just after the University of South Africa (Unisa) to Eeufees Road at the entrance to the facility.
The Tshwane Metro police officers have closed one lane for buses coming in from the Union Buildings to collect more passengers. At the entrance, there is a heavy police presence scanning and directing those still arriving at the facility where they can join the long queues.
However, for Yonada Mogoere, who drove all the way from Bloemfontein on Thursday, the wait was too long. She and a friend she met while waiting in the line, Thandeka Nkambule from Randburg, decided to drive to the city centre where they hoped they could join the queue there.
“We are going to try to go to the CBD, park our car and walk to the Union Buildings before the cut-off time at 5:30pm.”
She said she felt it was important to pay homage to the man that had given so much to the country.
Nkambule said just standing the in the queues had meant she was part of history.
“People are so friendly and they just start a conversation with you, even if they are meeting you for the first time. They will just start singing struggle songs, so it is not like it was in vain,” she said.
Today is the third and final day that Madiba will lie in state at the Nelson Mandela Amphitheatre at the Union Buildings. Tomorrow the body will be flown to the Eastern Cape, ahead of the official funeral on Sunday. - SAnews.gov.za
