S. Africa's 12 m pupils sing happy birthday to MandelaAFP - South Africa's schoolchildren sang happy birthday to Nelson Mandela as he turned 94 on Wednesday, a day when he asks the world to honour his legacy by performing community service.
The nation's 12 million schoolchildren began their day with a special birthday song, ringing with the line: "We love you father".
"As we celebrate his birthday, we remember that he fought for us in the struggle. The struggle was to fight apartheid," said 12-year-old Kgaugelo Masunhloane at Batsogile primary school in Soweto.
"He spent 27 years in prison. We would want to say thank you Madiba, and we wish you happy birthday, and many more years to come."
Mandela, known fondly by his clan name Madiba, was unlikely to make any public appearances, but rather to spend a quiet day with his family in his village home of Qunu, where he has retired from public life.
His granddaughter Ndileka Mandela told the Sowetan newspaper that his family would celebrate with a traditional meal of tripe and samp, a corn dish popular in his region of the Eastern Cape.
"We will probably have food like samp and tripe, his favourite food," she told the paper. "The big lunch will be at 4:00 pm (1400 GMT) where we will present him with a cake."
France24
