South Africa Remembers Mandela

Official ceremonies to mark the passing of the former South African leader are underway.

The ceremonies include an interfaith prayer service, followed by a wreath-laying commemoration by veterans of the anti-apartheid struggle, as well as a cricket match dubbed the Mandela Legacy Cup.

Many other events are due to take place over the weekend including widespread artistic performances as a way of remembering and celebrating the former president who led the country out of the apartheid era after enduring 27 years in prison.

Fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu has called on South Africans to emulate Mandela's example.

Artists and performers will over the weekend hold centre stage at the Nelson Mandela Foundation which has launched an exhibition in honor of the life and work of Mandela.

Madiba set South Africa on a course towards reconciliation after he emerged unbowed from nearly three decades in prison in 1990 and became the country's first black president to be elected by universal suffrage in 1994.

By Anne Muchiri

Source: Aljazeera