mike hannah reports. >> reporter: in the highest stands of the stadium, shelters from the rain, a visibleay of mandela's legacy. south africans of all colors and ages celebrating the life of the man who helped bring them together. these are mandela's people. and far below the arrival of the powerful, a warm welcome for the un secretary general, and a not so warm response for south african president. [ booing ] >> the boos, an indication of widespread belief that he suffers by comparison with the man he is here to remember. gathers here too family members, including mandela's past and present wives. >> i'm sad of course. we're all sad, but it had to come, and it's wonderful how the nation is coming together. i think that would have made him very happy to see our everybody are taking hands, and celebrating his life. >> reporter: there was th then -- thunderous apply for the u.s. president. >> there are too many people who hah happily embrace his eye eelism but resist modest reforms. there are too many leaders who claim sol dare with his struggle with freedom but do not tolerate decent from

mike hannah has more. >> prayers for a man who touched the lives of all. but in the void left by his death, an awareness of challenging so come. the growing gap between rich and poor, is the most brutal reminder that it is still to be realized. >> i think the challenge we have, hasn't necessarily means ma della, it means us south africans. if we don't do something, the young people are going to revolt, because if they remain poor, and the few become richer, than the people will revolt. >> the fault lines within south african society have become all too clear. it was a labor dispute that resulted in the killing of more than 30 people last year, but many argue that the root cause of such violence is an african national congress government that has lost touch with those that put it in power. >> if you look at what has been happening over the last few years in terms of public violence, you can see that we have many many people who don't feel represented by those in government. and the resort to violence is because they don't feel they are heard. >> and there's

. >> mike hannah is following events in johannesberg.w that remarkable show of unity with world leaders and people coming together. have they managed to digest and take in what happened at the stadium? >> it was very much the call for unity. it was very much the call among those who spoke from the podium, and the people sitting in the seats all around, there was that call for analysis of the society as it is today, a time for reflection, and we heard repeatedly through the day from speakers and from people we were speaking to in the stands now -- that now is the time to commemorate mandela by doing and living the way he would wish. very much a period of self examination in the course of this memorial. >> what happens next over the next few days before the burial takes place? >> well, over the next few days, nelson mandela's body will be taken to the union building at the seat of government, where members of the public will be able to file past and pay their final respects to the revered leader in the course of tomorrow, the beginning of

. >> mike hannah is in the stadium and haru mutasa has been outside the stadium. you have been there watching tens of thousands. what have they told you. >> listen to them. they have been doing this - singing and dances. they are here to pay respects to nelson mandela. i have a mother and her son who are white south africans that have come to the stadium. despite the bad weather and the cold, ma'am, you came out. why is that? >> because madeba made me so proud to be a south african. i'm proud. he embraces everything we are want for our land. yes, we are going to carry on with his legacy. >> coming down here to celebrate his life, did you think you'd see something like this. >> in a way i did. but i never thought this day would be possible. it makes me truly proud to be a south african. it is so great that the world has - world leaders descended on madeba. it's a fitting tribute to a great man. i think where he is put in efen, i think -- in heaven, i think he's smiling from above. it's just - mum and i are just so proud to be south african. he left such a wonderful

mike hannah in johannesburg. >> in the void left by nelson mandela's death an awareness of challengeso come. the growing gap between rich and poor is the most brutal reminder that mandela's promise of a better life is still to be realized. >> i think challenge we have doesn't necessarily need mandela. it needs us in south africa to face the reality that if we don't do something very logical, the young are going to revolt. the if the rich become richer and the poor become poorer then the young people will revolt. >> the fault lines have become clear, the killing of 30 people at the mericana mine last year, clear that afternoon african national congress government has lost touch with those who put it in power. >> if you look at what's been happening over the past few years in terms of public violence, you can see that we have many, many people who don't feel represented by those in government. and they resort to violence because they don't feel they are heard. >> and there's mounting criticism of the african national congress even from those who spent a lifetime in its ranks. a particul

mike hannah went to meet her. >> winnie mandela is a potent force, a member of the a.n.c. executive committee and a member of parliament. her voice is deeply influential. she insists the struggle to which she dedicated a lifetime is not over. the battle against apartheid may have been run, but the establishment of democracy is to be achieved. >> we have made tremendous gains, it is true. we attained political freedom. i think we are still very, very far. even though we have these political gains. if you are a south african, you know that the situation, the political situation in the country today is far from what we fought for. >> what can be done? what areas do you think we need to address? >> we inherited the heels of apartheid. it will take time. we were bruised. the wrongs of the party will take another generation to rectify. then we shouldn't be complacent. the frustrations you see out there, when people are demonstrating, the eruptions taking place over the country, the people are saying they have waited for too long. >> and while the struggle may not be over winnie

more from ali velshi and mike hannah, but we start with nick schifrin. >> in the poorest corner of johannesburg the tv barely receives nelson mandela's memorial. this is a notorious township where crime is high, sanitation low and garbage rarely collected. here they mourn a man considered a saint. this woman struggled, working for white families. >> and freddy runs a bar. it's noon on tuesday, but it's busy. here they toasted tata or father. >> respect, and what have we achieved because of him and what we learned, and how to live with other people. >> nelson mandela didn't only promise racial equality, he promised economic equality. >> the economic equality hasn't been fulfilled. unemployment is 60%, whites make more money than black people. >> this is where freddy lives, behind the bar. >> i sleep on that, cover with the blanket. >> you've been here 12 years and you sleep on the floor and have no bathroom. >> for sure. >> why do you stay? >> i don't have any option. s >> scratch beneath the surface, host are too worried about their daily lives to attend a memorial service. >> we don't have hop

. >> mike hannah sat with him to talk about their relationships. >> they were part of the successive white government that kept nelson mandela in gaol and served after nelson mandela in the first democratic government. as foreign minister it was his task to defend the imprisonment of nelson mandela and other political opponents. >> i remember in 1982 i submitted a memorandum to the to the effect that nelson mandela ought to be released, that we were making a bigger martyr of him every day he stayed in prison. that his international claim and status would grow to an extent that wee would not be able to handle it. >> eight years later nelson mandela became a free man. >> here you had a man in 27 years, in prison. and the day he was released he gy of the person who has d the been a president before. amaidsing. amazing what insight he had in the minds of people. and, for that matter, in the world affairs. >> central to the success of the negotiation process leading to a peaceful transfer of power was nelson mandela insistence that there need be no losers, they were all winners. >> we wer

mike hannah,pre yah, al jazeera. >> thank you for watchingings al jazeera. >> welcoming to being al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we're following for you. >>> senate on the hill taking up presidential nominations on a budget deal and some americans about to be cut off. unemployment benefits running outs in days. i. >>> we begin with breaking news coming from massachusetts. police there investigating a security scare at one of the nation's most p

mike hannah reports from pretoria. >> is a new era begins with the statue of the old unfurled. the flags on the union buildings no longer at half mast. the annual holiday a chance for the nation to pause for a nation without nelson mandela goes back to work. >> looking for the future i hope there'll be a refocus on values stood for, the need for reconciliation of human rights and equality. >> we have to see what we do to make sure it's right. >> the statute looks over the valley to the monument. under the previous fight regime it commanded victory over the black minority. it overlooks a wall in which blacks were feared and despised. nelson mandela changed the minds of many. he erat kated racism, ensuring it will not continue. >> we surprised the world. every now and then we get to the crossroads. the beacon must be nelson mandela's legacy. a man visiting from an older democracy can speak to the other challenges. >> too few have too much, and too many have nothing. you can not have democracy and economic poverty. >> canons fired but on this day of reconciliation, much to be done

mike hannah has more from pretoria. >> the crowds have been gathering since early in the morning. you can see the queues behind me, snaking around inside the grounds, moving to the buses. there are tens of thousands of people here. it's not just inside here. look at this. the cue is stretching outside the gate, moving for well over a kilometre down the road. people waiting patiently to get on the buses to see nelson mandela's body. in 1994 there were scenes like this when south africans went to the polls, went along and cast a vote, putting nelson mandela and his government in power. here we have people waiting in the line. this is like 1994, isn't it. people voting for nelson mandela. now they'll go and see him. >> definitely as south african we feel very blessed to feel part of this group celebrating the death of nelson mandela. he has been a great man to the country and to the world. we believe for us to be part of the procession, it's something that will come in handy. >> we are looking as well. here you are, almost behind bars like nelson mandela was. >> the one thing he gave

>>s the right to vote that's mike hannah. now much the world has changed since his relief. lease.neration has grown up, not knowing the direct impact of mandela in a lives but what of our own certainly does. our producer was a young south african that came of age just as he was released. you have to take us back to that time. you a young kid, what was that environment like before mandela's release? you weren't even allowed to talk about it. >> as difficult as one of the other guests said, difficult thinking how restrictive it was. mandela's name was banned it was against the law to use his name. if you used the name of nelson mandela that was a criminal offense, that can report you, and stand as a witness in a trial against you, and you could be prosecuted for it. grew one this feeling didn't really know what this man was. >> your mother didn't want you saying his name. >> . >> right. she was afraid. she had three boys who were growing up in a time where it was so easy to befall you at the hands of the state police. she tried to protect us, and it wasn't key for us to get into pol

. >> mike hannah reporting. >> in an egyptian appeals court they reduced a prison sentence for 21 women and girls. the imprisonment caused widespread outrage. we have more from cairo. >> before saturday's appeal hearing these 14 women, 17 and 18, were faing 11 years in gaol for taking part in a protest against egypt's military-backed government. the harsh sentences provoked outrage internationally and domestically amongst supporters of the coup. an appeal court has given the women a one-year suspended sentence. i am so happy. i'm so happy. and at the same time we are continuing what it was before. what is solid more than before. seven girls gaoled for 11 years have been given three months probation. all have been in gaol for a month. >> we believe that they are absent, so in our opinion this is unjustified judgment. for us, it's not 100% success, of course. >> but there are thousands of people in gaol in egypt yet to face trial for offenses they are accused of committing since the august military crackdown. the women faced swift justice when they were tried and gaoled a couple of weeks

mike hannah is joining us now live with more, mike, on the day's events. >> well, indeed yes, it wasomber day, hundreds of thousands of people filing past nelson mandela. there were the dignitaries at the beginning. his widow, ex-wife, presidents past and present, and then it was the people who filed in single file past the casket. one by one they would go past. the air as i said somber, a dominant view expressed by one youth, he said, well, madiba has done his bit, now it's time for us to do ours. that that -- that is a dominant feeling that has been expressed. the national african congress needs to do its bit for the people of south africa too, and that is none other than winnie mandela. she is a very strong political figure in her own right, a very controversial one at times, not only because of her contentious divorce from nelson mandela but also because of the criminal charges that have been brought against her and the conviction. but he has rehabilitated herself. and she now has a voice of conscious within the african national congress. she has spoken up from within the ranks a

mike hannah has more now. >> reporter: a steady stream of people flowing down the steps of the unioning, having paid their last respects to nelson mandela, tens of thousands of people have filed past the cassette where he lies in state. as many as 100 people every minute viewing the body paying the last respects, and those who are here, old and young. this group of children sing a song in nelson mandela's nate tiff language. we thank tutu mandela. he gave us educate, food, and freedom, they say. the final day of lying in state in coming hours, he will be transported from the military base where his body has been kept overnight to his home village where the state funeral will be held on sunday. but left behind will be a tangible reminder of nelson mandela, a statue that will be publicly unveiled on monday, signalling an end of the former mourning period, but fittingly celebrating a national holiday. >>> well despite leaving a legacy of freedom and equality in south africa, nelson mandela was never able to bring hiv under control. and he has come under scrutiny for failing to address t

. >> for more on the mood in south africa let's go to my colleague, mike hannah. he is in soweto, and it's great to sue you. how would you describe the mood on that street in that neighborhood this evening? >> well, it's a very strange mixture, tony. it's a deep sadness among many here. but there is also an insistence that there must be a celebration of his life. throughout the day here we have seen people dancing, singing, moving up and down. it's way past 1:00 in the morning local time. that there are still crowds gathered outside of the house. every now and then groups will burst into song. there is that real mixture, that sadness, there is also a great sense of celebration. great sense of joy, almost, that all the people in this country have come together to remember nelson mandela in his death. >> michael, i'm curious, did mandela return to that home after his release in prison in 1990? >> well, yes, he did. it was very interesting. the day after his release from prison he first of all went to to cape town, and then he came through to soweto, a massive gather

mike hannah, al jazeera, johannesburg. >> joining us for more is shonina moquina who group up in a southafrica divided by apartheid. >> thank you. >> when you think about south africa and its future and the future of the anc, what do you think? what are you most concerned about? >> well, you know, the ac has basically two options. they can could not doing more of the same which is continue being the political party it is right now, or it can try to make itself into a party of the 21st century. and so it has to think about the young voters, the people who were born after apartheid, who were born even in the 1990s, who are now the youngest voters in south africa. those are the people it has created strategy for and has to convince to go to the poles and to vote. >> right now, it's at a crossroads. isn't it? >> yes. this is a crossroads because it can no longer claim to be only the part that's liberated south africa. it has to start accumulating more positive and better claims. >> has to do more than what it has done. it can't rely on nelson man dealt a and history? >> but it's about the hi

ordinary , black and white, the people he led to freedom. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: mike hannah, al jazeera. >> much more still to come on the death of nelson mandela, and we're in another part of africa. [ gunfire ] >> that's from an tempted coup in the south african republic. and we're in the philippines where a cash for work scheme is massive typhoon cleanup. ♪ ♪ >>> you are watching al jazeera headlines dominated by the death of nelson mandela, and the tributes being paid to him. ♪ >> these pictures out of south africa show celebrations of the life rather than the death of mandela, and the tributes which are coming in are word wide, the 95-year-old icon, and former en. the current south african president, jacob zuma has paid his respects. >> this international icon, who was a symbol of reconciliation, unity, love, human rights, and justice in our country and in in the world. [ gunfire ] >> >>> in other news after fighting killed more than a hundred people france is doubling the number of its troop reinforcements. countries are meeting in paris to discuss military interventio