“We enter into a covenant that we shall build a society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without and fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity – a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world,” Nelson Mandela famously said when he was sworn in as South Africa’s first black president in 1994.
So it is fitting that a rainbow would appear over the Union Buildings, the country’s official seat of power in Pretoria, and where the beloved world leader’s body is currently lying in state.
The body of Mandela, who passed away at the age of 95 on December 5, has been on display to the public since Wednesday, and will remain so for three more days, leading up to the official funeral on Sunday in Qunu. According to reports, thousands have flocked to Pretoria to see the Mandela’s body one last time, resulting in miles-long lines.