The body of Nelson Mandela has arrived at the main government building in South Africa's capital, Pretoria, where it will lie in state for three days.
His body was taken in procession from a hospital mortuary to the Union Buildings on Wednesday. Members of the public lined the route to form a "guard of honour".
People lined the streets in Pretoria for a last farewell. Photo: AFP
Mr Mandela, a Nobel peace laureate, led South Africa's transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s after 27 years in prison and was the country's first black president. The 95-year-old died on 5 December at his home in Johannesburg.
The public, invited heads of state and international guests will be able to view the body before he is buried in his home village of Qunu in Eastern Cape province on Sunday, the BBC reports.
On Tuesday, tens of thousands of South Africans joined nearly 100 world leaders for a four-hour national memorial service in the pouring rain at a stadium in Soweto as part of a series of commemorations.
The procession left 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria shortly after 7am on Wednesday (local time). The coffin could be seen inside a black hearse, draped in a South African flag. It travelled along Kgosi Mampuru Street and Madiba Street on the way to the Union Buildings.
The hearse was in a long convoy with military outriders and military ambulances. The convoy sped quickly through the streets, with some people running alongside the military guard, a BBC correspondent said.
The Union Buildings are the official seat of the South African government, where Mr Mandela was sworn in as president in 1994.
South African artists will perform in a memorial concert on Wednesday night.
Military officers carry Nelson Mandela's coffin to the Union Buildings. Photo: AFP
