"As your journey ends today, ours must continue in earnest. One thing we can assure you of today Tata is, as you take your final steps, is that South Africa will continue to rise." - President Jacob Zuma

"We acknowledge the suffering of your own children, who had an absent father," said Zuma.

He said it must have been difficult for them to have a father who the apartheid regime had labelled as a "dangerous man who was a terrorist".

"They must be proud to be brought onto this earth by a man so great and humble," Zuma said of Mandela's children.

"You said: 'I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations'.

"You forgave those who took you away for most of your adult life and dehumanised the majority of your compatriots...

"Tata, as your triumphant journey comes to an end, we sincerely thank you for dedicating your life to building... a free South Africa," said Zuma.

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"The song may have ended but the melody still lingers" ....