/ 6 December 2013

Mandela mourned on every front page

Mandela Mourned On Every Front Page

Following the death of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela on December 5 2013, most South African newspapers published their headlines in black or on a black background, as a sign of mourning for Madiba.

"The World Weeps", ran the headline on the Star newspaper on Friday. 

President Jacob Zuma made the announcement of Mandela's death from the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Thursday night. He said Mandela passed away at 8.50pm at his home in Houghton, Johannesburg. He was surrounded by his wife, Graça Machel, and members of his family.

Zuma said Mandela would have a state funeral and that flags would fly half-mast from December 6 until after the funeral.

Zuma called on South Africans to "recall the values for which Madiba fought".

Meanwhile, the Citizen ran a black and white image of Mandela, who passed away at the age of 95, with the headline: "The World Mourns".  

The Mail & Guardian later on Friday a published a special Mandela edition, that paid tribute to the icon.

Daily newspaper Sowetan bid the anti-apartheid activist? farewell by featuring an image of him beneath the headline, "Goodbye Tata".

The New Age splashed out on its front page with a message to Mandela, who spent 27 years in jail for his battle against white-supremacist rule, before being elected president in South Africa's first all-race elections in 1994. "Hamba Kahle [farewell] Madiba," was its headline.

While the Beeld's bold front page featured a quote from Mandela in Afrikaans, which translated to: "Death can never be avoided. A man can rest in his peace, when he has done what he considers his duty to his people and his country. I believe I have accomplished this and for that reason I can sleep until eternity."

– Additional reporting by Sapa, AFP