Mandela Funeral: Mourners Angry At Procession

Some of the mourners who lined the streets to see Nelson Mandela's coffin arrive at his childhood home have said they are angry the funeral procession sped past them so quickly.

Tens of thousands of South Africans waited for hours in Mthatha in the country's Eastern Cape to pay their respects to the anti-apartheid icon.

But as his coffin, flanked by an enormous convoy of police cars and motorcycles, was carried to its final resting place in Qunu, many complained they had not been given ample opportunity to say farewell.

It follows controversy surrounding the apparent snub of Mr Mandela's close friend Desmond Tutu , who said he had not been invited to the burial service.

"We feel like we're not respected by the government or by the Mandela family," one mourner, angry that the funeral procession failed to stop, told Sky News.

"We couldn't even honour Mr Mandela," another added. "He fought for us and he was imprisoned for 27 years. We're very disappointed."

Sky's Special Correspondent Alex Crawford, in Mthatha, said: "You can hear the anger in the voices of lots of people here.

"As soon as the cortege passed, the anger was spilling out.

"Many people say they're very disappointed they were not able to get a closer and longer glimpse of a man they regard as the son of Qunu."

Security was tight as the coffin, draped in South Africa's national flag, arrived at Mthatha airport on board a military plane.

Two fighter jets accompanied the aircraft through clear blue skies from the capital Pretoria, where the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party paid tribute to its former leader at a mostly sombre event punctuated by song and dance.

From Mthatha, the funeral procession made the 31km (19-mile) journey to Qunu - a village with rolling hills and dusty tracks which, according to his memoirs, is where Mr Mandela spent "the happiest days" of his childhood.

He will be buried there after South Africa's first ever state funeral, at which full military ceremonial honours will be laid on, led by the armed forces.

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