Nelson Mandela Funeral to be Held on Dec. 15th

While the world is mourning the death of Nelson Mandela who was the face of the African anti-apartheid movement, South Africa government has planned the final farewell for their great leader.

The funeral for Nelson Mandela has been planned to be held on Dec. 15th. The South African President Jacob Zuma has announced the time and the place of the funeral.

Earlier today (December 6) Zuma declared, “We should all work together to organize the most befitting funeral for this outstanding son of our country.”

To that end, the funeral for Nelson Mandela will take place on Sunday, December 15th, 2013 in the Eastern Cape Province of Qunu.

Furthermore, President Zuma announced that the Sunday prior (December 8th) the country will hold a “national day of prayer and reflection.”

“The official memorial service will be held on the 10th of December at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg. From the 11th to the 13th of December the remains of our beloved Madela will lie in state…in Pretoria, where he served as the first president of this young democracy; during these days official memorial services will also be held in all provinces and regions. Once again, we thank all South Africans for the dignity, respect, and the support that has been provided to the Mandela family from the period of Mandela’s illness to his eventual passing.”

On Thursday (December 5) Zuma shared, “Although we knew that this day would come, nothing can diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss. Our thoughts are with the South African people who today mourn the loss of the one person who, more than any other, came to embody their sense of a common nationhood. Our thoughts are with the millions of people across the world who embraced Mandela as their own, and who saw his cause as their cause.”