Nelson Mandela's state funeral: In pictures

Nelson Mandela was laid to rest following a short graveside sermon by Bishop Siwa, who said: "Yours was truly a long walk to freedom and now you have achieved the ultimate freedom in the bosom of your maker, God almighty."

A marching platoon of the presidential guard, wearing green ceremonial uniforms and carrying rifles with fixed bayonets, escorted the coffin, which had been transferred to a gun carriage, to the burial site.

At the end of the memorial ceremony a military guard of honour carried Mr Mandela's coffin, draped in the South African flag, out of the marquee as the audience sang.

Nelson Mandela spent much of his childhood in the small, Eastern Cape village of Qunu - a place he chose to return to after his release from prison. The ceremony was held in a marquee constructed for the event.

The President of South Africa Jacob Zuma began his address in song and was joined by the audience. He went on to say. "We wish today to express two simple words: thank you. Thank you for being everything that we wanted and needed in a leader during a difficult time in our lives. Whilst the long walk to freedom has ended in the physical sense our own journey continues."

Following his speech President Zuma received thanks from Mr Mandela's former wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.

To loud applause Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia's founding president, jogged to the stage to make an unscheduled address. He said: "This great son of the world, not only South African… Madiba showing us the way, whether you're white, black, yellow or brown, you're all God's children. Come together, work together and God will show you the way."

Mr Mandela's granddaughter Nandi recounted stories and anecdotes of her grandfather's family life. "He was a true servant of the people, his mission in life was to make lives better," she says. "He truly cared for his family and children."

Malawian President Joyce Banda paid tribute to Mr Mandela's former wife Winnie and his widow Graca Machel (pictured). "The love and tolerance you have demonstrated before the whole world at the funeral shows us that you are prepared to continue with his ideals."

Outside the marquee people gathered to watch the ceremony on big screens.

In Johannesburg mourners continued to gather outside the Mr Mandela's former home...

Some laid flowers and held portraits...

Others sang and danced to celebrate the life of Mr Mandela.

Anti-apartheid activist and close friend of Mr Mandela Ahmed Kathrada made a very moving tribute. He said: "Farewell my dear brother, my mentor, my leader... My life is in a void and I don't know who to turn to."

Across the nation many, like this family in Soweto, watched the funeral service on television.

After the two-hour service, Mr Mandela's Thembu community will conduct a private traditional Xhosa ceremony - including songs and poems about Mr Mandela's life and his achievements.

Nelson Mandela's former wife Winnie Mandela Madikizela (left) and his widow Graca Machel watched as Mr Mandela's coffin arrived at the white marquee.

Inside the marquee, Nelson Mandela's portrait had been placed behind 95 candles, representing one for each year of the late president's life.

Former South African President Mbeki was greeted by ANC supporters as he arrived.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu - a long-time friend of Nelson Mandela - was also there, having earlier said he had cancelled his flight as he had not received an invitation.

Nelson Mandela's daughter Makaziwe told the BBC earlier in the week that the former president's family gathered around him to say goodbye in his final hours. She is seen here arriving for the funeral in Qunu.

Shembe priest Michael Notychanga prayed in the direction of the home of former Mr Mandela.

Amongst those attending were US talk show host Oprah Winfrey and her husband Stedman Graham and English businessman Richard Branson (right).

The South African National Defence Forces fired ceremonial cannons as the body of Nelson Mandela was taken from the family home to the funeral marquee.

The coffin arrived with a military escort.

The gun carriage carrying Mr Mandela's body began its journey to the marquee, signalling the start of singing, and speeches reflecting on the life and achievements of Mr Mandela.

Children waited outside their home for the cortege to pass.

Members of the South African Navy lined the road from the Mandela family house to his burial site in Qunu.

Since his death on 5 December aged 95, many more have paid their respects. Mr Mandela has been hailed as "a giant of history" for his fight against apartheid.

Early on Sunday morning people made their way to Qunu.

 

Following a week of commemorations Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black leader, is to be buried in his ancestral home in Qunu. Across South Africa people lit candles in his memory on the eve of the funeral.

Nakaaya has a baby boy

Now a mother. Singer Naakaya Sumari. 

Dar es Salaam. R&B-hip hop singer Nakaaya Sumari is now officially a mother.

Born on September 3, 1982, in Arusha Tanzania, Nakaaya gave birth to a baby boy Kai Samuel on October 5 this year.

Nakaaya, who was also a featured star of the African Great Lakes region’s first reality TV show called Tusker Project Fame went to post the photos of his newborn on Instagram  which attracted 114 likes.

“On the 5th of October, God blessed me with a son.  I named him Kai Samuel.  For he is King.  I too get be called a mother, it is the best feeling in the world, may our Father in Heaven shield you my son, and may you serve Him all of your days, in Jesus’ name”, she wrote. (Edward Qorro)

Zitto now faces court over Swiss billions ‘lies’

Mr Zitto Kabwe (Kigoma North-Chadema).PHOTO|FILE

Dodoma. The government said yesterday it intends to file a case against Mr Zitto Kabwe (Kigoma North-Chadema) for allegedly lying about the billions of shillings stashed away in Switzerland.

Attorney General Frederick Werema said in Parliament that Mr Kabwe misled the House and the special committee formed to investigate the matter.

He said Mr Kabwe has no tangible evidence and that what he has been claiming in and outside the parliament were “all lies”.

Mr Kabwe has repeatedly alleged that about Sh300 billion of taxpayers’ money is stashed away in Swiss banks and more than Sh1 trillion in Jersey Islands, but the government is not willing to recover the cash.

But yesterday the AG, who was winding up debates on reports tabled by various parliamentary committees, said the committee formed to probe Mr Kabwe’s allegations, was doing everything in its capacity to establish where the money was hidden and by whom.

However, Mr Werema said Mr Kabwe has so far failed to prove in Parliament and before the committee that what he has been claiming was true.

Earlier, Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda stunned the House by saying he would be happy and relieved if the law makers were to move a vote of no confidence on him.

He was reacting to calls by some Members of Parliament that he should be sacked.

Mr Pinda said – as he was fielding responding to questions from MPs – that this would save him a lot of energy and time that he has dedicated to serve the government and the nation.

“If you decide to judge this PM by looking at (the performance of) two or three ministries alone you will be misjudging him. I am an overall supervisor of more than 20 ministries and it is my conviction that most of these have been performing well.

“But, if you initiate a vote of no confidence and other MPs support the motion, I am ready to face the music,” Mr Pinda said when reacting to a question asked by Ms Rukia Kassim Ahmed (Special Seats – CUF).

Ms Kassim had gathered courage to ‘take the bull by the horns’ after several days of volleys of accusations over the incompetence of some ministers with several ministers suggesting that it was Mr Pinda who should be taken to task as the overall supervisor of the government.

Kikwete to speak at Mandela’s burial

A woman is overcome with grief after paying her last respects to former South African President Nelson Mandela as he lies in state at the Union Buildings yesterday. PHOTO | AFP

Dar/Pretoria. President Jakaya Kikwete is expected to speak at the Mandela burial ceremony in Qunu Village, South Africa on Sunday, representing a bloc of countries that supported freedom fighters in the struggle against apartheid.

Tanzania was at the helm of the Frontline States that threw their weight behind black people’s struggle against the racist and oppressive policies of white rulers in southern Africa.

Mwalimu Julius Nyerere’s leadership allowed the Umkotho we Sizwe (MK), the military wing of the African National Congress (ANC), to establish training camps in the country.

The first MK camps outside South Africa were established in 1963 and 1964 in Tanzania at Kongwa, Mbeya, Bagamoyo and Morogoro. Morogoro later became ANC’s headquarters in Tanzania. Mwalimu Nyerere was instrumental in the setting up of the anti-apartheid movement, together with Bishop Trevor Huddleston in the early 1960s.

State House spokesperson Premmy Kibanga yesterday confirmed to The Citizen that President Kikwete would indeed be in Qunu for the final internment of Mzee Mandela.

“He will travel on Friday (today) to South Africa and I am aware he’s among Heads of State who will speak at the burial on Sunday,” said Ms Kibanga.

President Kikwete was among nearly 100 global leaders who were in Johannesburg on Tuesday to pay tribute to the fallen anti-apartheid hero at the Soweto township.

He was in Nairobi yesterday attending Kenya’s 50th anniversary celebrations alongside 10 other presidents and heads of government.

South African government’s International Relations spokesperson Clayon Monyela told the media in Pretoria yesterday that despite the burial ceremony being a private, family event, numerous foreign dignitaries were also expected to attend.

Malawian President Joyce Banda is another African leader expected to speak at the funeral on behalf of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc).

Former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda and Rwandan President Paul Kagame will also be there.

Meanwhile, President Kikwete has admitted he had a very hard time paying last respects to Mandela on Wednesday at the Union Buildings in Pretoria because of his close personal attachment to the anti-apartheid hero. “It was hard to believe that what I was seeing was real; I had problems accepting the reality that body I was looking at was that of Madiba. It was a very difficult moment for me,” Kikwete said during an interview with South Africa Broadcasting Cooperation (SABC) soon after paying his last respects.

Kenya loses Ksh73bn to crime, tax evasion in 10 years

Nairobi. Kenya has lost about Sh73 billion ($ 847 million) in crime, corruption, and tax evasion in a decade.

This is according to a new study published by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington, DC-based research and advocacy organisation.

The study that was carried out between 2002 and 2011, however, indicates that in 2006, Kenya had no case of illicit financial outflows as well as between 2008 and 2011.

It reveals that most of the activities took place in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007 in the country.

The study also indicates that crime, corruption, and tax evasion drained $946.7 billion from the developing countries in 2011, 13.7 per cent more than 2010—when illicit financial outflows totalled $832.4 billion.

It also disclosed that nearly $6 trillion was stolen from developing countries in a decade between 2002 and 2011.

In East Africa, Uganda leads in the illicit financial outflows with accumulative of $7,373 million followed by Tanzania which had $4,441 million while Nigeria led in Africa with $119,784 million.

China, Russia, Mexico, Malaysia, India in declining order are biggest exporters of illicit capital over a decade while Sub-Saharan Africa suffers biggest illicit outflows.

The report, “Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2002-2011 is GFI’s 2013 annual update on the amount of money flowing out of developing economies as a result of crime, corruption and tax evasion.

Financial crisis

“As the world economy sputters along in the wake of the global financial crisis, the illicit underworld is thriving siphoning more and more money from developing countries each year,” said GFI President Raymond Baker.

He went on: “Anonymous shell companies, tax haven secrecy, and trade-based money laundering techniques drained nearly a trillion dollars from the world’s poorest in 2011, at a time when rich and poor nations alike are struggling to spur economic growth.”

Chadema members issue life threats to Slaa

 Some members of the main opposition party, Chadema, in Kigoma Region have issued an apparent threat to the life of the party’s secretary general, Dr Wilbroad Slaa, if he visits Kigoma urban as part of his ongoing tour of the western Tanzania.

Angered by the party’s leadership move to strip Kigoma North MP, Zitto Kabwe, of his deputy secretary general post, the members warned Dr Slaa, who is currently in Kasulu District, not to visit Kigoma urban if he wants to stay alive.

Speaking after demonstrations that began at Mwandiga suburb and ended at Mwanga Central grounds, the members called on the regional commissioner, Mr Issa Machibya and regional police commander Frasher Kashai to stop Dr Slaa’s tour of the region to save him from the planned assault.“We give the police six hours in advance to tell Dr Slaa that he is not welcome in Kigoma,” they warned, saying they were tired of being bulldozed by the party’s members hailing from Northern Zone regions. “Enough is enough, we don’t want him here,” they insisted.

The billionaire who ‘fixed’ Zitto Kabwe

Kigoma North MP Zitto Kabwe, follow the Parliament committee on Infrastructure debate at Pius Msekwa hall in Dodoma on Tuesday to discussing the problem faced the sector the meeting attended with transportation stakeholder, government officials  and MPs. PHOTO\EDWIN MJWAHUZI

If you are a multinational company having trouble with governments in Africa over investment, you just phone one man called Moto Mabanga and task him to fix the problem.

In the blink of an eye, Mr Mabanga will have sorted out things for you, but for an astronomical fee, whose exact amount would depend on the nature and value of the business.

From presidents to prime ministers, millionaires to billionaires, Mr Mabanga has always fixed their problems and earned with a trust, power and millions of dollars.

He sorted out Ophir Energy in Tanzania about a decade ago when the gas exploration company from South Africa wanted the lucrative oil and gas concessions. When Vodacom was in trouble in the Democratic Republic of Congo few years ago, he took a private jet and flew to Kinshasa to fix the deal.

Fixing problems for multibillion-dollar companies and billionaires across Africa has been a veritable gold mine for Mr Mabanga in the past decade, making him one of the richest men in Southern Africa.

For years, Mr Mabanga has been known in many places across the continent, especially South Africa and the DRC, as a Congolese fixer with an affinity for fancy cars, private jets and lucrative business across the globe.

South Africa’s Daily Maverick newspaper dubbed him “a fixer with firm African National Congress (ANC) connection”.

Another South African premier newspaper, Mail& Guardian called him “a politically connected fixer”.

Here in Tanzania, Kigoma North MP Zitto Zuberi Kabwe said he was a Congolese fixer who allegedly bribed some local officials to obtain gas exploration licences for Ophir Energy.

Inside and outside Africa, Mr Mabanga, a millionaire with an estimated fortune of roughly $400 million, is identified as a Congolese currently living in South Africa.

Courtesy of his dressing style, fancy living and heavily accented Swahili, one can easily be persuaded to believe that he is indeed a Congolese who went to post-apartheid South Africa to seek greener pastures.

For reasons he has never publicly disclosed, Mr Mabanga has always refused to have his entire face photographed.

S.Africa planned Madiba’s $3 billion funeral four years ago

The plan to give Nelson Mandela a decent send-off was first mooted four years ago, with the latest estimates showing it would cost $3 billion (Sh4.8 trillion), The Citizen has learnt.

According to South Africa’s Times newspaper, the plan to secure the world icon’s memorial service, the lying in state and the funeral and the protection of the huge number of VIP mourners, has been four years in the making.

Alarmed by Madiba’s deteriorating health, The Times reported, South Africa, in a bid to avoid any embarrassment, planned “a global” burial for the country’s first black president.

But, the plan was kept a top secret within the ruling elite, although Madiba’s close family members were at some stage briefed and also consulted. With more than 70 heads of state having confirmed their attendance at Mandela’s memorial service and funeral, the event could surpass in numbers what was considered to have been the biggest gathering of heads of state outside of the United Nations – the funeral of Pope John Paul II.

Held on April 8 2005, John Paul’s funeral brought together at least 70 heads of state, 14 leaders of other religions, four kings and five queens. Over four million people lined the streets of Rome to mourn the leader of the Catholic Church.

 

South Africa’s former President Nelson Mandela.PHOTO|FILE

On Sunday, South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) confirmed that 70 sitting heads of state will attend either the memorial service or the funeral. The event will see former leaders sitting alongside their countries’ incumbent leaders.

The memorial service and funeral will involve the activation of South Africa’s tightest security plan ever and the deployment of thousands of police and soldiers.

On Monday, the South African government said everything was in place to ensure the safety of more than 70 world leaders, royalty, scores of other foreign and South African dignitaries, and thousands of mourners expected to attend this week’s events across South Africa.

Officials said the security plan was based on the 2010 soccer World Cup that was organised peacefully amid tight security.

Security manpower will be brought into Gauteng Province, which hosts Johannesburg and Pretoria, from other provinces, the South African government announced yesterday.

On Sunday, thousands of people attended church services in remembrance of Mandela and to pray for the wellbeing of the country.

Mandela’s former wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, and President Jacob Zuma, attended a service at Bryanston Methodist Church, Johannesburg, yesterday.

Obama, Cameron, Schmidt take selfie at Mandela memorial

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US President Barack Obama, UK Prime Minister David Cameron, and Denmark's PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt took an impromptu photograph of themselves at the memorial service for the late South African President Nelson Mandela.

Global Superstars One Direction and "The Voice" Winner Cassadee Pope to Perform on "America's Got Talent" Aug. 28

Pope will also share an inside look at life since "The Voice" in a yet-to-be-titled docuseries that premieres on CMT on October 4.

[via press release from NBC]

GLOBAL SUPERSTARS ONE DIRECTION AND "THE VOICE" WINNER CASSADEE POPE TO PERFORM ON "AMERICA'S GOT TALENT" AUG. 28 Both to Appear on Hourlong Live Results Telecast as Competition Among Acts Becomes More Intense NEW YORK - Aug. 20, 2013 - Global superstars One Direction will perform "Best Song Ever," the single from their highly anticipated new movie "One Direction: This Is Us" on NBC's "America's Got Talent" results show Wednesday, Aug. 28 (9-10 p.m. ET). "The Voice" winner and chart-topping singer Cassadee Pope will also perform on the live telecast. On "Best Song Ever," Niall, Louis, Harry, Liam and Zayn deliver yet another memorable modern-pop classic. The music video delivered a record breaking 12.3 million views across VEVO in the 24 hours following its premiere. With two albums to date - "Up All Night" and "Take Me Home" - One Direction have sold more than 30 million records worldwide. Their third album is due out later this year. They've won two BRIT Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards and three Billboard Music Awards. "One Direction: This Is Us," directed by Morgan Spurlock and released in theaters on Aug. 30, is a captivating and intimate all-access look at life on the road for the global music phenomenon and their meteoric rise to fame. Pope's soaring vocals and edgy performances stole the national spotlight when she won season three of NBC's "The Voice" and dominated the top spot on the iTunes All-Genre chart with three of her performances. Since then, the petite powerhouse has ascended to the #1 spot on the iTunes Country Singles Chart with "Wasting All These Tears," the first single from her debut album "Frame By Frame," releasing Oct. 8 on Republic Nashville. Pope will also share an inside look at life since "The Voice" in a yet-to-be-titled docuseries that premieres on CMT on Oct. 4 (9 p.m. ET). CMT will also feature Pope as one of their Next Women of Country as she graces Nashville Lifestyles' August "Hot List" cover. Currently, Pope is opening for Rascal Flatts' "Live & Loud" Tour. "America's Got Talent" kicks off the first semifinal performance show on Tuesday, Aug. 27 (9-11 p.m.) where 12 of the top 24 acts will perform for America's vote. Six of those acts will move on to the Top 12. Now in its eighth season, "America's Got Talent" stars celebrity judges Howie Mandel, Mel B, Heidi Klum and Howard Stern. With the talent search open to acts of all ages, "America's Got Talent" has brought the variety format back to the forefront of American culture by showcasing performers from across the country.

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Unwrap a different Flanagan photo every day 'til Xmas

First day of Christmas ... don't miss our Helen Flanagan advent calendar

JINGLE Hel’s, Jingle Hel’s ... and you can tingle all the way as The Sun unwraps a Crimbo calendar of the very best Flanagan photos — every day until Christmas.

The ex-Corrie beauty has just jetted Down Under to return to the I’m A Celeb jungle as part of its spin-off show.

So to help her many fans count down the days until she’s back home, we’ll have a different snap of Helen for you to open online daily until December 25. Every one’s a cracker — starting with today’s.

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Nelson Mandela's Epitaph, in His Own Words

Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013 Alpha/Globe Photos/ZUMAPRESS.com

"My Lord, I am the First Accused." Those were Nelson Mandela's opening words as he stood in the dock in the Palace of Justice in Pretoria, South Africa, on the morning of April 20, 1964—nearly half a century before his death December 5 at the age of 95. Mandela and eight other defendants had been charged with violating the Sabotage Act and the Suppression of Communism Act, accused of plotting violence against the apartheid government with the aim of overthrowing it. By fomenting "chaos, turmoil, and disorder," the prosecutor explained, the accused hoped to achieve "liberation from the so-called yoke of the white man's domination." Mandela, who was already serving a five-year sentence for organizing a strike and leaving the country without a passport, assumed that they would be sent to the gallows.

With the verdict all but certain, Mandela and his codefendants decided to turn their trial into an indictment of the apartheid state. When he had been asked for his plea, Mandela replied, "The government should be in the dock, not me. I plead not guilty." Yet the lengthy statement he prepared to open his defense was not an attempt to prove his innocence—in fact, he readily admitted to many of the charges made against him. He instead took the opportunity to forcefully promote his cause. But he also knew that he was offering a doomed man's final words, in essence, a self-written epitaph.

Mandela took two weeks to write the speech. A white lawyer who reviewed a draft exclaimed, "If Mandela reads this in court they will take him straight out to the back of the courthouse and string him up." Mandela's own lawyer urged him to cut out the final paragraph, but Mandela held firm. "I felt we were likely to hang no matter what we said, so we might as well say what we truly believed," Mandela recalled in his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom. The final lines of Mandela's 60-page, 176-minute statement have since become its most famous

It wasn't me, it was Moi: Kibaki, biggest failure Kenyan president and his hilarious blame game

 Character is judged by how people behave, but even more importantly how they respond under attack or when under pressure.

When a person chooses to defend themselves by blaming somebody else, then it becomes very clear what kind of person that individual is.

In a public lecture at the University of Nairobi (where Moi would have been a much more engaging guest lecturer in my view), retired President Kibaki opened his mouth to hit out at a man without whom he would NEVER have survived the presidency.

My late dad had a lot of respect for Kibaki and I have to admit that I too respected the man when he was in the opposition. Well, the good news is that Mwai Kibaki's true character has come out very clearly for all to see. And I have NOT even started analyzing the Kibaki presidency and how it took the country 100 years backwards so that the man with a bald head left a much more tribally divided country than what was handed to him by President Moi.

And if you still had doubts a recent Kumekucha poll clinches it. We asked Kenyans a simple question; who was the better president, dictator Moi or polished Kibaki? 

The results were;
Moi 61%
Kibaki 38%

Liverpool must not give Luis Suarez a new contract, says John Aldridge

John Aldridge has urged Liverpool not to give Luis Suarez a new contract (Picture: Getty)

Liverpool legend John Aldridge has urged his former club to ditch plans to offer Luis Suarez a new contract.
Suarez, who had asked for a move away from Anfield over the summer, was subject of intense interest from both Arsenal and Real Madrid.
But despite pushing for the switch, he eventually stayed put, and reports last week suggested the Reds are set to tie him down to a new long-term contract.
However, Kop Hero Aldridge has hit out at the idea, and says Suarez should not be rewarded for wanting to leave.
‘Suarez was very keen to leave Liverpool in the summer and I have no doubt that he will look to get away once again,’ said Aldridge.
MORE: Brendan Rodgers impressed with Luis Suarez’s ‘mental steel’ on Liverpool return

Suarez has been in good form on his return to action (Picture: Getty)

‘So why try and get him to commit to the club now, so soon after he did the dirty on them with his bid to join Arsenal?
‘Liverpool chief executive Ian Ayre may have told the media he would consider a new contract for Suarez in a bid to dampen down any fresh speculation over the future of the striker.
‘But if Liverpool fail to qualify for the Champions League once again, I’m sure Suarez will want to leave and I would advise my old club to get as much money for him as possible and rebuild the team with the new funds.’
Suarez would reportedly pocket around £160,000-a-week as part of a new deal, which would make him Liverpool’s most highly paid ever.
It’s thought that despite Aldridge’s comments, negotiations over the new deal could begin as early as next week.