OWN CORRESPONDENT, Pretoria | Sunday 6.00pm.
SEVERAL hundred people, including President Thabo Mbeki, on Sunday attended the funeral of Chief Justice Ismail Mahomed who died on Saturday.
Arriving at the Laudium home of Mahomed near Pretoria, Mbeki told reporters he was devastated by the death of the chief justice.
”This is a great loss for the country and all our people. Beyond our borders, many will also be distraught by his death.”
Mahomed, 68, died in a Johannesburg clinic on Saturday afternoon. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer earlier in the year.
Mourners quietly gathered outside Mahomed’s home at about 11am, waiting for his body to be taken to a nearby Muslim mosque.
Among them were Justice Minister Penuell Maduna, Transport Minister Dullah Omar, Minister in the Office of the President Essop Pahad, National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka, human rights lawyer George Bizos, and novelist Nadime Gordimer.
Mahomed’s body was brought out in a coffin that was draped in a cloth of green and gold. The coffin was then passed from shoulder to shoulder along a line of people between the house and the mosque.
Mbeki and other mourners joined the solemn 20-minute walk to the mosque, where they took off their shoes before entering.
After a prayer of about three minutes, the coffin was taken to Pretoria West cemetery, where Mahomed was laid to rest.
Mbeki said he had known Mahomed for years, and relied heavily on him to help bring about change in South Africa.
”It will be very difficult to replace a man of his intelligence, tenacity and discipline,” Mbeki said. – Sapa