Thousands of mourners are expected to be bused into Grahamstown next weekend. The city will be the only venue in the region for big-screen live coverage of the Qunu funeral of Nelson Mandela on Sunday 15 December.
Thousands of mourners are expected to be bused into Grahamstown next weekend. The city will be the only venue in the region for big-screen live coverage of the Qunu funeral of Nelson Mandela on Sunday 15 December.
This is according to secretary of the party’s Sarah Baartman Region, Scara Njadayi. He told Grocott’s Mail this morning that the screening at Joza’s Miki Yili stadium will be attended by members from all nine of its municipalities.
The memorial service for the ANC's Sarah Baartman Region will be held in Sunday’s River at 2pm on Wednesday 11 December. Njadayi said this service would be addressed by members of the party’s national and regional executive committees.
President Jacob Zuma announced the death of his predecessor on Thursday night. He made the statement on national radio and television shortly before midnight, saying that Mandela had passed away peacefully in the company of his family at his home around 8.50pm on Thursday, 5 December 2013.
In a media statement issued on Friday, Njadayi said the death of Mandela, a guide and source of inspiration to many people, had brought profound sadness. A champion of a people-centred society, he had died at a time when South Africans were grappling with the triple oppression of poverty, unemployment and income inequality.
In the region’s statement, Njadayi said Mandela’s strong moral grounding served as a reminder that leadership was not about being rewarded, but “serving people as a whole”.
Mandela was a true patron of democracy, Njadayi said. “A father to all of us irrespective of race and colour.
“He was a champion of a united, non racial, non sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa, a people-centred society. He is leaving at a time when the nation is grappling to respond to a triple challenge of oppression which is poverty, unemployment and income inequality.
Njadayi said all of the ANC Region’s 74 branches were convening prayer service today.
The next edition of Grocott’s Mail will carry a full supplement celebrating the life of the man who dedicated his whole life to the people of this country and taking a closer look at his connections with Grahamstown.
We invite readers to write in and share with us their feelings about the passing of our beloved leader, and let us know if you had a personal experience with him.
You can send your condolences to Grocott's Mail's SMS line at 082 049 2146, tweet @Grocotts or email them to online@grocotts.co.za. We will post them on the Grocott's Mail website, which will carry news and information about the mourning period and funeral of Nelson Mandela.
Click on the link below to download the full statement as released by ANC Sara Baartman.
