adminProsper Ndlovu Senior Reporter
BULAWAYO churches will this afternoon hold a memorial service in solidarity with their South African counterparts in honour of Nelson Mandela, the neighbouring country’s first black president.
The organiser of the event, Reverend Useni Sibanda, told Chronicle yesterday that different church denomination leaders and residents would gather at the Small City Hall to remember Mandela who died aged 95 last Thursday.
“We will have a memorial service in honour of Mandela between 12noon and 2pm at the Small City Hall. We stand in solidarity with South Africans at this painful time when they mourn the death of their former president,” Rev Sibanda said.
He added: “Our leaders represented us in the memorial service at Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium on Tuesday and we feel we can support our government in what they have done.”
Rev Sibanda said the service was open to all people and invited residents to attend in their large numbers.
“We invite everyone to come. We all know the close historic links with South Africa and the business partnership we share. We feel we should show that solidary,” he said.
The demise of Mandela plunged the international community into mourning with world leaders describing Madiba, as he was affectionately known, as an icon of the anti-apartheid struggle, a humble yet fearless and principled man.
Mandela will be buried in his ancestral village in Qunu, Eastern Cape province, on Sunday.
Online Reporter
Londile Moyo