Johannesburg – Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane has thanked the province’s residents for the respect they showed during the mourning period for former president Nelson Mandela.

“We should all emulate Madiba’s good traits,” Mokonyane said in a statement on Wednesday.

“We can all aspire to be more like him by serving our local communities and community organisations with integrity and compassion.

“This will ensure that Gauteng and South Africa will be a better place to live in.”

During Mandela’s memorial service at FNB stadium, in Soweto, last Tuesday, President Jacob Zuma was humiliated when large sections of the crowd booed him whenever his face appeared on the large screens.

The open hostility embarrassed the African National Congress, whose deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa called for restraint.

ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said the party was shocked that the event had been politicised.

“We are not happy at all. We would have preferred that all who attended this ceremony gave Madiba a well-deserved send-off. It came as a bolt to all of us.”

The crowd’s reaction to Zuma marked a sharp contrast to the applause given to former president Thabo Mbeki and US President Barack Obama.

Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu reprimanded the crowd, asking them to be disciplined.

“I want to show the world we can come out here and celebrate the life of an icon. You must show the world that we are disciplined,” a visibly angry Tutu shouted at the crowd in FNB stadium.

“I want to hear a pin drop.”

– SAPA