'Handsome as ever'

Nelson Mandela "looked as handsome as ever and at peace" as he lay in state at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele said yesterday.

Cwele was among the first to see Madiba's body at the Union Buildings amphitheatre, which has been renamed after him, and where he will lie in state until tomorrow .

Cwele said that, as he approached Mandela's body, he "felt a change".

"It suddenly dawned on me that he was really gone. I bowed over him and said: 'Thank you, Tata, for everything'."

The Mandela family, local politicians and foreign leaders were among the first to see him in his open coffin.

Madiba is dressed in one of his trademark batik shirts. Visitors can see the brown-and-yellow shirt and Mandela's face through a glass casing. His lower body is covered. Four guards, with heads bowed, stand at each corner of the bier.

With her head bowed, his widow, Graça Machel, walked a few steps behind President Jacob Zuma. She was followed by Madiba's former wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, and her daughters.

The mood was sombre. Family members - most of them in black - walked slowly, as if hesitating to reach where Mandela's coffin rested.

The occasion was emotionally overwhelming for Mandela's daughters, Zenani and Zindzi. They were seen frequently wiping away tears even before they saw their father's coffin. Tears continued to stream down their cheeks after they viewed the body and were ushered away.

The emotional occasion also got the better of Mandela's personal assistant, Zelda la Grange, who walked hand-in-hand with Irish rock star Bono of U2 and his wife, Ali Hewson.

With a tissue in her left hand, La Grange wiped away her tears as she walked up to Mandela's coffin. She stood briefly alongside it, wiping away the tears again.

Cwele said Mandela's family had performed funeral rituals in accordance with Xhosa culture in private.

"In African culture, being departed does not mean that person is no longer with us.

"The government closely liaised with the family to ensure that their wishes were fulfilled," he said.

According to family spokesman Themba Matanzima, a family elder tells Mandela's spirit of his location whenever the body is moved.

It is believed that if this is not done the spirit will be restless.

Mandela's eldest grandson, Mandla, received the body at the Union Buildings.

Former presidents Thabo Mbeki and FW de Klerk paid their respects, as did several serving and past heads of state, including former Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda.

First in the public queue to see Mandela's coffin were Kholofelo Madiba and her sister.

"We made it. We are here. We are here to say thank you, give praise, to laugh, sing and dance, and say goodbye," Kholofelo said.

Behind her the queue stretched for over 2km.

"Today is the first day that I stopped crying. Today I will no longer cry. I will be celebrating ... celebrating life," she said, as the nearly 4000-strong crowd sang Mandela's praises.

Another mourner, Kenneth Nkosi, 37, said: "The commander is gone ... he is no more. I saw him with my own eyes."

As the day unfolded, the queues were reminiscent of those at the 1994 elections.

Early yesterday, Mandela's body was brought to the Union Buildings from 1 Military Hospital, in Thaba Tshwane.

Members of the defence force's special forces units took positions on the roofs of buildings overlooking the route.

The black glass-framed hearse carrying Mandela's body drove slowly as air force Oryx helicopters flew overhead.

On board the helicopters were heavily armed paratroopers. Flying above them were several police helicopters.

Gripen fighter jets - fitted with state-of-the-art surveillance and communications equipment - flew over Pretoria as part of the extensive military close-air support operation.

The Union Buildings had a tight security cordon of police and soldiers thrown around them . Armoured vehicles from mechanised infantry units were positioned on the lawns .

As well as uniformed soldiers there were a number of special forces members in civilian clothes on patrol .

"This has been planned properly. Rehearsed over and over again.

"Just because you cannot see the forces, especially around the hospital, does not mean they are not there," an officer said.

"Nothing has been left to chance. His body is closely guarded, with multiple security layers, wherever it is ... Whether it is lying in state, at the hospital or in transit on the ground or in the air, it is guarded," said the officer.

Cerese Halgreen's father, army Sergeant-Major Leon Halgreen, was one of six pallbearers who carried the flag-draped coffin up the steps of the Union Buildings.

"When my father told us, we were so excited. We watched and helped him iron his uniform.

"It is such an honour to know that my father helped carry the coffin of one of, if not, the greatest men on earth."

Savesha Naidoo, 14, who was standing in the queue of people waiting to see Mandela, said she would not allow her mother and sister to leave without seeing him.

"What's three hours in the sun when he spent 27 years in jail for us?" she asked.

Thapelo Moela travelled from Mpumalanga to say goodbye to Mandela.

She queued for three-and-half hours waiting for the bus taking mourners to the Union Buildings.

After seeing the icon, Moela said: "The load is off-loaded. The man is resting in peace, sleeping peacefully." - Additional reporting by Katharine Child, Aarti J Narsee and Sapa-dpa