Pretoria - South Africans have come out in their tens of thousands to queue at the Fountains Valley park- and-ride facility in Pretoria in the hope of getting a chance to view the late former President Nelson Mandela’s body.
Young and old, black and white, are standing in queues which stretch for kilometres, for buses to ferry them to the Union Buildings where Madiba is lying in state for the third and last day.
Most have been at the venue since the early hours of the morning, some sharing their stories about the Father of the Nation, some holding placards of the struggle icon, while others blow their vuvuzelas and waive the National Flag.
The queue is stretching for kilometres as women and children find shade under umbrellas.
Police visibility is high in the area, while vendors selling Mandela t-shirts and ice cream make a quick sale.
Traffic into Fountains Valley is almost manic and the public have begun parking on the streets as they can’t get in to the venue.
Government announced that park-and-ride facilities at all three venues in Tshwane were full at about 10.30am.
For many of the mourners, seeing Madiba’s body will bring closure to them.
Nelisiwe Somo, who travelled from Mpumalanga with her fiancé, said they arrived at the park-and-ride facility at 5am.
“It is chaotic. I’m sure there is a better way that this could have been arranged. We slept in the car as we wanted to be the first in the line,” said Somo, as she stepped into the bus to the Union Buildings.
Jackie van Tonder from Johannesburg is spending her second day in the queue. She was unable to get to the Union Buildings on Thursday but says she will not be deterred today.
“It has not been easy. This is my second day here but today I hope to get a chance to see Madiba,” she said.
Kedibone Mosenene said she was aware that she might not get a chance to see Madiba, but she wanted to experience the “Madiba magic” one last time. – SAnews.gov.za
