The arrival of an army of reporters, photographers and television crews for Nelson Mandela’s funeral on Sunday has created a security nightmare for South African authorities.
Police and soldiers have sealed the centre of the anti-apartheid hero’s ancestral village of Qunu, lying in rolling hills 700 km south of Johannesburg, and banished media to a field on top of a hill a kilometre from the cemetery.
In accordance with the wishes of Mandela’s family to keep the ceremony private, the only pictures of the burial of one of the 20th century’s greatest figures will be via the state broadcast and an official outside photographer.
In the skies above the village, fighter jets are enforcing a no-fly zone, both for the security of imminent high profile arrivals and to prevent any prying eyes observing the rites from a passing helicopter.
A huge marquee erected on a hillside for mourning family members, tribal elders, top government figures and official guests blocks the view of nearly the entire family plot, where three of Mandela’s children are already buried.
That is not likely to deter photographers with long lenses from sneaking the last shot of South Africa’s first black leader, as his coffin is lowered into the ground at the end of funeral rites, expected to mix Xhosa tradition with military pomp and ceremony. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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