Desmond Tutu will not be attending Nelson  Mandela’s funeral because he did not receive credentials to do so, his spokesman  says.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, a long-time  friend of Mr Mandela and occasional critic of the current government, spoke  earlier in the week at a memorial service held in Soweto.

The South African liberation hero is to be  buried tomorrow in his home village of Qunu, with all the pomp and ceremony that  the country can muster.

 

But for now it seems that may not  include Mr  Tutu, whose profile looms almost as large as the late Mr  Mandela in the  pantheon of African statesmen.

‘The archbishop is not an accredited  clergyperson for the event and thus  will not be attending,’ said Rev Mpho Tutu,  the archbishop’s daughter,  in a statement.

She is chief executive of the Desmond and  Leah Tutu Foundation.

More tributes were this morning paid to Mr  Mandela during a ceremony at  Waterkloof air base, on the southern outskirts of  Pretoria, in a  farewell from the African National Congress (ANC).

The military handed over the anti-apartheid  icon’s flag-draped coffin to  the ANC at a solemn ceremony, including a  multi-faith service and a  musical tribute, that was broadcast live on South  African television.

Current South African president Jacob Zuma  praised Mr Mandela in a detailed  recounting of the liberation struggle. He said  Mr Mandela had the rare  ability to put theory into practice.

‘He did something that is not easy to do,’  said Mr Zuma.

 

 

He also described Mr Mandela coming to  Johannesburg from the countryside  as a young man and bringing discipline and  vision to the long and  difficult anti-apartheid movement.

Mr Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years for  opposing racist apartheid  before emerging in 1990 to forge a new democratic  South Africa by  promoting forgiveness and reconciliation.

He became president in 1994 after South  Africa’s first all-race democratic elections.

Mr Zuma led the group in song after his  speech. Mr Mandela’s widow, Graca  Machel, wearing black, wept and wiped tears  from under her glasses. Mr  Mandela’s former wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela,  looking stricken, was  there as well.

Mr Mandela’s favourite poem, Invictus, was  printed on the back of the programme.

 

 

 

After the ceremony, the former president’s  remains were taken on board a  military plane and flown to Mthatha in the  Eastern Cape, where it was to be greeted by a full military ceremony.

Rituals will also be performed before a  motorcade takes the casket from Mthatha to the village of Qunu where Mr Mandela  will be buried on tomorrow.

At the airport in Mthatha there was a buzz of  activity today, with  military vehicles driving around as anticipation built  over the arrival  of South Africa’s most famous figure.

The public has been invited to view the  cortege as it makes its way and  residents and people who had travelled for  hours thronged a road leading to Qunu, singing and dancing as Mandela T-shirts  were handed out.

‘We got up this morning at 2am and drove from  Port Elizabeth – it’s about  seven hours – and we got here now. We’re waiting to  show our last  respects to Madiba,’ said Ebrahim Jeftha, using Mandela’s clan  name.

 

 

Soldiers in full gear were stationed on foot  on either side of the road from the airport in Mthatha. Some civilians were also  already lining the route,  shielding themselves from the sun with  umbrellas.

Mr Mandela had longed to spend his final  months in his beloved rural  village but instead he had spent them in a hospital  in Pretoria and then in his home in Johannesburg where he had remained in a  critical  condition, suffering from lung problems and other ailments, until his  death.

The body will be taken to the Mandela family  farm, where more rituals will be performed.

A night vigil by the ANC is planned at Walter  Sisulu University in  Mthatha tonight, with party leaders and government  officials honouring  Mr Mandela on the eve of his burial.

 

 

The late president died last week aged 95.  His body lay in state for three  days this week, drawing huge crowds of South  Africans who mourned his  death and celebrated his successful struggle against  apartheid.

Many were disappointed when they could not  view his remains because long  lines and traffic problems meant that thousands  had to be turned away  without paying their final respects.

There will be further disappointment that Mr  Tutu, a well-respected figure in South Africa and internationally, will not have  the opportunity to pay  his final respects.

A spokesman for Mr Tutu refused to elaborate  and said the retired archbishop himself would not be commenting.

However, a spokesman for the South African  presidency later said Mr Tutu is  definitely on the guest list, adding that he  hopes a solution will be  found that allows him to attend.

‘Certainly he is invited,’ Mac Maharaj said.  ‘He’s an important person.’

Read more: DailyMail