Mixed emotions as Mandela’s hearse arrives at Union Buildings

Pretoria – As military helicopters hovered over former President Nelson Mandela’s hearse as it was being accompanied by a procession from One Military Hospital to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, residents who had lined up to form a guard of honour had mixed emotions about the event.

Centurion resident Kabelo Gwangwa said seeing the hearse that carried Madiba’s coffin left him speechless.

“I thought I would feel hurt but I was overcome by emotions and a sense of joy filled me when I witnessed this moment,” he said.

Gwangwa was one of hundreds of residents who lined up the streets from the early hours of the morning to be part of the event. He left his house at 5am but only got to the Union Buildings just before 7am due to slow traffic caused by road closures.

He said what made him feel better was the thought that it was perhaps time that “we let him go, and we have to accept that he is gone”.

While Bonela Biyongo from Arcadia felt sad when she saw the hearse, Nomsa Montshione from Mamelodi said she was on her way to work and decided to park her car on the side of a busy Pretorius street to rush to the Union Buildings to join the guard of honour.

“For me it was an exciting experience. I am one of the many people who have never seen Madiba with my naked eyes and I wanted to do this for my son so that I can tell him this story when he gets old,” she said.

After the procession passed, crowds started dancing and singing struggle songs on the lawns in front of the Union Buildings. – SAnews.gov.za