"I Was Holding Him When He Drew Last Breath" - Mandela's Ex-Wife Winnie

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, ex-wife of the great South African leader, described his last moments in her first public comments on his death.

In the interview with the Britain’s ITV television she said:

"I went close to him and I noticed he was breathing really slowly. I was holding him trying to feel his temperature and he felt cold. Then he drew his last breath and just rested… He was gone."

A lot of mourners, high-rank politicians among them, are expected to descend on the remote location in Eastern Cape province to say their last goodbye to Nelson Mandela on Sunday.

The government officials claimed, the venue would be able to accommodate around 5,000 people.

However, only family members and relatives will be given access into the compound perched on a hilltop overlooking clutches of traditional huts.

According to Mthatha Airport manager, Anderson Maduneni, the facility will have to cope with 100 aircraft transferring world figures during the weekend. Since the beginning of the week all the commercial flights have been shut in the airport. This measure was taken to ensure safety.

There are also police officers along the length of the 35-kilometre (22-mile) road from the airport to Qunu. Again for the security reasons they often stop and search the passing vehicles.