:00:13. > :00:24.greatest son -- lost its greatest son. Yet what made Nelson Mandela
:00:25. > :00:39.great was precisely what made him human. We saw in him what we seek in
:00:40. > :00:51.ourselves. And in him, we saw so much of ourselves. Fellow South
:00:52. > :01:06.Africans, Nelson Mandela brought us together and it is together that we
:01:07. > :01:16.will bid him farewell. Our beloved Madiba will be accorded a state
:01:17. > :01:26.funeral. I have ordered that all flags of the Republic of South
:01:27. > :01:34.Africa be lowered to half-mast from tomorrow, six December, and to
:01:35. > :01:44.remain at half-mast until after the funeral. -- sixth December. As we
:01:45. > :01:53.gather to pay our last respects, let us conduct our selves with the
:01:54. > :02:04.dignity and respect that Madiba personified. Let us be mindful of
:02:05. > :02:18.his wishes and the wishes of his family. As we gather, where ever we
:02:19. > :02:28.are, in the country, and where ever we are in the world, letters recall
:02:29. > :02:37.the values for which Madiba fought. Letters reaffirm -- let as reaffirm
:02:38. > :02:47.his vision of a society in which none is exploited, or pressed --
:02:48. > :02:56.oppressed or dispossessed by another. Let us commit ourselves to
:02:57. > :03:04.show together, with strength and courage, to build a united,
:03:05. > :03:19.non-racial, nonsexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa. Letters
:03:20. > :03:25.express -- let us express each, in our own way, the deep gratitude we
:03:26. > :03:35.feel for the life spent in service of the people of this country and in
:03:36. > :03:47.the cause of humanity. That is indeed the moment of our deepest
:03:48. > :03:54.sorrow. Yet it must also be the moment of our greatest
:03:55. > :04:04.determination. A determination to live as Madiba has lived. To strive,
:04:05. > :04:14.as he has strived, and to not rest until we have realised this vision
:04:15. > :04:26.of a truly united South Africa. A peaceful and prosperous Africa. And
:04:27. > :04:37.a better world. We will always love you, Madiba. May your soul rest in
:04:38. > :04:56.peace. But bless Africa. -- God bless Africa. I thank you.
:04:57. > :05:07.We have just heard the very sad news announced by Jacob Zuma that Nelson
:05:08. > :05:11.Mandela has died. He was 95 years old. She had been suffering from a
:05:12. > :05:19.recurrence of a lung infection. -- he had. He was admitted to hospital
:05:20. > :05:23.three times, receiving treatment since September at his home in
:05:24. > :05:26.Johannesburg. He contracted tuberculosis during his 27 years in
:05:27. > :05:32.prison for leading the fight against apartheid in South Africa. Of
:05:33. > :05:36.course, he is revered as the father of the nation for overseeing the
:05:37. > :05:43.transition from white minority rule to democracy and we heard there
:05:44. > :05:48.president Zuma announcing that Nelson Mandela has to be peacefully
:05:49. > :05:54.on Thursday at his home in Johannesburg. We can cross live to
:05:55. > :06:03.speak to the BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse in Johannesburg. Deeply, deeply sad
:06:04. > :06:08.news. Yes, and you saw the very sombre tone taken there by Jacob
:06:09. > :06:13.Zuma, speaking at union buildings in Pretoria, saying that Nelson build
:06:14. > :06:18.-- saying that Nelson Mandela had departed, passing on peacefully and
:06:19. > :06:26.that the nation South Africa have lost its greatest son. And that our
:06:27. > :06:30.people had lost a father. He talked about the deep emotional attachment
:06:31. > :06:35.that South Africans have four Nelson Mandela, who many here called
:06:36. > :06:41.Madiba, and he said nothing can diminish our sense of loss, his
:06:42. > :06:47.utility and compassion, and he said we saw so much of ourselves in him.
:06:48. > :06:50.That is crucial at the moment here, even now Nelson Mandela had departed
:06:51. > :06:57.from public life quite some time ago, many, many South Africans, most
:06:58. > :07:01.South Africans, saw in him the embodiment of their better selves,
:07:02. > :07:06.the nation they wanted to see. Jacob Zuma talking about I united South
:07:07. > :07:13.Africa, building a united, nonracial South Africa in which no one is or
:07:14. > :07:16.pressed or exploited. At this time, whilst the nation as morning, even
:07:17. > :07:20.though this was something they knew would happen, it is also a time at
:07:21. > :07:25.which this nation is contemplating how much further it will has to go
:07:26. > :07:31.to achieve that vision of Nelson Mandela's. Very upsetting and, as
:07:32. > :07:37.you said, we had been planning for it, of course, Mr Mandela has been
:07:38. > :07:44.so ill for so long, but still comes as an incredible shock. I think so,
:07:45. > :07:48.he was old, 95 years old, very frail, he had been very ill on and
:07:49. > :07:53.off for the past year, hospitalised and months ago, released from
:07:54. > :08:00.hospital to intensive home care macro, that was in September. In a
:08:01. > :08:04.sense, the South African nation had this time to prepare for the
:08:05. > :08:09.possibility of his passing, and yet, and missed all of that, still is
:08:10. > :08:12.hoped that he would pull through, always the talk of his being a
:08:13. > :08:18.fighter, putting up a courageous fight. His oldest daughter said,
:08:19. > :08:21.only on Tuesday, that even though she could see her father was still
:08:22. > :08:27.struggling on what she called his death bed, that he was putting up a
:08:28. > :08:34.brave fight, still teaching the family and the South African nation
:08:35. > :08:39.lessons of tolerance and patience. This evening, increased activity at
:08:40. > :08:45.around Nelson Mandela's Johannesburg home, which I guess led to thoughts
:08:46. > :08:52.and fears being heightened, and now been confirmed. That is right, we
:08:53. > :08:56.saw earlier today at gathering of the family, larger than we had seen
:08:57. > :09:01.in some time, and some government vehicles arriving, then about ten
:09:02. > :09:09.ago, police vehicles putting up a Gordon, trying to keep some of the
:09:10. > :09:17.smaller crowds. -- putting up a cordon. What they understand will
:09:18. > :09:20.now happen is that Mr Mandela's body will be moved to a mortuary in
:09:21. > :09:27.Pretoria, which has been prepared for him, then a whole set piece
:09:28. > :09:30.number of days of mourning, culminating in a state funeral, as
:09:31. > :09:36.Jacob Zuma said, most likely next out of the. Saturday week. -- most
:09:37. > :09:44.likely next that today, Saturday week. Thank you very much for
:09:45. > :09:50.updating as on the deeply, deeply sad news that Nelson Mandela has
:09:51. > :09:52.passed away, was 95 years old, a consumer making that announcement
:09:53. > :09:58.that Mr Mandela passed away peacefully. -- Jacob Zuma making
:09:59. > :10:02.that announcement. He spoke about the nation losing its greatest son
:10:03. > :10:08.and people their father. He also said, letters express our own way
:10:09. > :10:12.gratitude for a life spent in service for the people of this
:10:13. > :10:17.country. The flags around the country will be kept at half mast
:10:18. > :10:25.from tomorrow, Friday, until after the funeral. He said, this is the
:10:26. > :10:30.moment of our deepest sorrow, and also the moment of our greatest
:10:31. > :10:35.determination to live as Madiba live, striving as he strived and not
:10:36. > :10:41.resting until we have realised his vision of a united South Africa.
:10:42. > :10:45.Jacob Zuma speaking earlier. Condolences coming from around the
:10:46. > :10:50.world, David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, saying a great light
:10:51. > :10:56.has gone out, that he was a hero of the time and the flag at number ten
:10:57. > :11:01.will be flown at half mast. For those joining us, sad news that
:11:02. > :11:07.Nelson Mandela has died at the age of 95. He had been suffering from a
:11:08. > :11:14.recurrence of a lung infection. We are watching live images from
:11:15. > :11:19.outside his home, where he passed away peacefully at the age of 95.