Thousands Turned Away as Mourners Bid Farewell to Mandela
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South African police turned away thousands of mourners attempting to pay their respects to former President Nelson Mandela, who was lying in state for a final day at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
About 50,000 people filed past the body today after being bussed in from various sites across the capital city, bringing the number of people who viewed Mandela’s coffin to 100,000 over three days. Police let “a few hundred” extra people through barriers at the Union Buildings after the cut-off time because of the long wait they had endured, spokesman Solomon Makgale said by phone.