Max Sisulu, the speaker of Parliament is observing all protocols.
Here is where the current statistics for Madiba’s memorial in Johannesurg, and possibly his funeral in Qunu, stand:
•91 Heads of State
•10 Former Heads of State
•26 Countries represented by Ministers.
•The World Bank, the AU & the EU will be in attendance
•Princes and Kings from the corners of the world will be coming.
Basically, there will be more heads of state coming to bury Nelson Mandela than the numbers which came to inaugurate him.
The question remains whether there will be enough “Presidential Suites” to accommodate the sheer number of presidents who will be in attendance. Recommendations I have would be for Swaziland and Lesotho to have pen hospitality as they would cipher some of the security and spatial load off South Africa and its administration. Both have facilities which can accommodate heads of state for the duration of this weeks proceedings.
According to The Telegraph, the Spice Girls are coming to Nelson Mandela’s memorial.
The Dalai Lama has been denied a VISA twice before and his spokesperson has recently stated that he has no plans to attend the funeral due to this. Given that Madiba and he have several correlation philosophies regarding humanity and gross human rights,his lack of attendance would have an impact on the morale o the entire event.
Queen Elizabeth, of Great Britain, will be absent at Mandela’s funeral.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he wont attend Mandela’s memorial because traveling is expensive. One wondered where the financial backing for a war in Palestine originates from
If you were wondering how the world first reacted to the news of Madiba’s demise, here is an amazing video at the announcement at the premier of “Long Walk to Freedom” in London.
Here is a full list of events for this week and information around tomorrow’s FNB memorial
This afternoon the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be addressing the media at the Nelson Mandela Foundation
There will be a complete lock down at FNB stadium in Johannesburg by tonight. The Stadium will be open by 6am for the scheduled memorial service.
At least 41 Metrorail trains are to transport mourners to the memorial.
An important notice from the City of Cape Town regarding Nelson Mandela’s Memorial Event at Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday:
http://t.co/zTdbWhxEfA
A press conference with Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu will be held at 20h00 at the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
News just in: Amakrwala awazu kwazi ukuphuma kule veki kude kugqitywe umncimbi ka Madiba.” (The youths currently undergoing the end of their initiation will be unable to finish this week owing to the current state of funeral arrangements around Madiba)
courtesy of the South African Department of international relations & cooperation, this is the revised list of dignitaries, and as yet, is in the process of being updated. One will note all 4 presidents of the United States of America are not on right now.
| Afghanistan, His Excellency Hamid Karzai, President | Mozambique, President of Mozambique, HE Armando Emilio Guebuza |
| Algeria, His Excellency Mr Abdelkader Bensalah, Speaker of the Council of the Nation (Senate) – rank above the Prime Minister | Namibia, His Excellency Hifikepunye Pohamba, President |
| Angola, His Excellency Mr Manuel Vicente, Vice President | Niger, His Excellency Issoufou Mahamdou, President |
| Argentina, Mr Amado Boudou, Acting President of Argentina | New Zealand, Right Hon John Key, Prime Minister |
| Australia, His Excellency Mr Tony Abbott, MP, Prime Minister | Nigeria, His Excellency Goodluck Jonathan, President |
| Bahamas, Right Honourable Perry Christie, Prime Minister | Niger, His Excellency Mahamadou, President of Niger |
| Bangladesh, His Excellency Mr Md. Abdul Hamid MD ABDUL, President | Norway, His Royal Highness Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway |
| Belgium, His Royal Highness King Philippe | Pakistan, His Excellency Mr Mamnoon Hussain, President |
| Benin, His Excellency Boni Yayi, President | Palestinian State, His Excellency Mahmoud Abbas, President |
| Botswana, His Excellency Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama, President | Portugal, His Excellency, Anibal Cavaco Silva, President |
| Brazil, Her Excellency Dilma Rousseff, President | Saudi Arabia, His Royal Highness Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince |
| Burundi, His Excellency Pierre Nkurunziza, President | Saharawi Republic, His Excellency Mr Mohamed Abdelaziz, President |
| Canada, His Excellency Stephen Harper, Prime Minister | Senegal, His Excellency Macky Sall, President |
| CHAD, His Excellency Mr Idriss Deby Itno, President | Serbia, His Excellency Tomislav Nikolic, President |
| China, His Excellency Li Yuanchao, Vice President, | Seychelles, His Excellency Mr James Alix MICHEL |
| COMORES, His Excellency Dr Ikiliou Dhoinine, President | Spain, His Royal Highness Felipe de Borbon, The Prince of Asturias |
| Congo (Republic of the Congo ), His Excellency Mr Denis Sassou-Nguesso, President | Sri Lanka, His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa, President |
| Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo), His Excellency Joseph Kabila, President | Suriname, His Excellency Desire Delano Bouterse, President |
| Cote d Ivoire, His Excellency President Allassane Ouattara, President | Slovenia, His Excellency Pahor, President |
| Croatia, His Excellency Josipovic Ivo, President | South Sudan, His Excellency General Salva Kir Mayardit, President |
| Cuba, His Excellency Raul Castro Ruz, President | Sweden, His Royal Highness Victoria, Prime Minister |
| Denmark, His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Federick | Switzerland, His Excellency Mr Ulrich Maurer, President |
| Djibouti, His Excellency Ismail Omar Guelleh, President | Swaziland, His Excellency Dr Sibusiso Dlamini, Prime Minister |
| Ethiopia, His Excellency Ato Hailemariam Dessalegn, Prime Minister | Suriname, His Excellency Desire Delano Bouterse, President |
| Equatorial Guinea, His Excellency Mr Obiang Mbasogo, President | Tanzania, His Excellency Dr Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President |
| France, His Excellency, Francois Hollande, President | Timor-Leste, His Excellency Kay Rala Xanana, Prime Minister |
| Finland, His Excellency Sauli Niinisto, President | Tunisia, His Excellency Mohamed Moncef Marzouki, President |
| Gabon, His Excellency Ali Bongo Ondimba, President | Trinidad and Tobago, His Excellency Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister |
| The Gambia, His Excellency Prof Alhaji Dr Yahya AJJ Jammeh, President Sheikh | Uganda, His Excellency Yoweri Kagota Museveni, President |
| Ghana, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, President | United Arab Emirates, His Excellency Sheikh Nayahan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture – Special Envoy of the Emir |
| Germany, His Excellency Joachim Gauck, President | United Kingdom, His Royal Highness Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Prime Minister David Cameron, Former Prime Ministers Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and John Major |
| Guyana, His Excellency Donald Ramotar, President | Venezuela, His Excellency Nicolas Maduro Moros, President |
| Guinea, His Excellency Prof Alpha Conde, President | Zimbabwe, His Excellency Robert Gabriel Mugabe, President |
| India, His Excellency Pranab Mukherjee, President | Zambia His Excellency Michael Sata, President |
| Ireland, His Excellency Michael D Higgins, President | Arab States League, His Excellency Amb Samir Hosny, Minister |
| Italy, His Excellency Enrico Letta, Prime Minister | African Union Commission, Her Excellency Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson |
| Japan, His Imperial Highness, Crown Prince Naruhito | Commonwealth, His Excellency, Mr Kamalesh Sharma |
| Jamaica, Her Excellency, Portia Simpson Miller, Prime Minister | European Council, His Excellency Mr Herman van Rompuy, President |
| Jordan, Her Royal Highness, Queen Rania Al Abdullah and His Excellency Prime Minister Dr Abdullah Ensour | Mexico, His Excellency Enrique Pena Nieto President of Mexico |
| Kenya, His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta, President | Mauritius, His Excellency Dr the Honourable Navinchandra, Prime Minister |
| Korea (South), His Excellency Hongwon Chung, Prime Minister | Mauritania, His Excellency Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, President |
| Lebanon, His Excellency Mr Najib Mikati, Prime Minister | Malawi, Her Excellency Joyce Banda, President |
| Lesotho, His Excellency, T Thabane, Prime Minister | Grand Duchy of LUXEMBOURG, His Royal Highness Henry of Luxembourg, The Grand Duke |
| Liberia, Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President |
Related articles
- Nelson Mandela’s Funeral Arrangements (hellscouldron.wordpress.com)
- Mandela: all systems go in Tshwane (iol.co.za)
One Comment Add yours