Soweto - Nelson and Oliver have come all the way from Cape Town with their father Desmond Stevens to pay their last respects to their favourite icon.
While waiting for the first train to arrive at the Johannesburg Park Station shortly before 6am on Tuesday morning, Nelson, 17, said he felt honoured to have been named after the "greatest man in the world".
"For me it is immense to have been named after him.”
Nelson arrived in Johannesburg with his family on Monday night to attend the Memorial Service of former President Nelson Mandela at FNB Stadium in Nasrec, Johannesburg, on Tuesday morning.
"I could not miss this memorial service for anything. This is history in the making," he said.
While he plans to pursue agriculture studies in Columbia, his younger brother Oliver, 11, said he wanted to study to become a lawyer when he matriculates.
Named after struggle veteran Oliver Tambo - who together with Mandela ran a law firm in Central Johannesburg in the 1950s - the 11-year-old said he was happy to have seen Mandela before his death.
Their father, Stevens, said all his children are named after South African struggle icons. He said he did so because he was proud to be South African.
"This is not all of us [the family]," he said. "The young one is named Walter (After Walter Sisulu) but he could not make it." - SAnews.gov.za
