Former South African president Nelson Mandela's body has been buried at a family plot in Qunu following his state funeral service today.

Former South African president Nelson Mandela's body has been buried at a family plot in Qunu following his state funeral service today. This comes after Mandela died on 5 December aged 95, marking the tenth day of his commemoration. According to the BBC, about 4500 people including foreign dignitaries and the likes of the Prince of Wales and Oprah Winfrey were in attendance at the service which took place inside a specially erected marquee. Archbishop Desmond Tutu was also present despite having earlier said he had cancelled his flight because he wasn't invited. Various speakers paid tribute to Mandela while his widow Graca Machel and his former wife Winnie-Madikizela Mandela listened sitting on either side of president Jacob Zuma. Mandela's friend, Ahmed Kathrada, with whom he spent many years in prison on Robben Island recalled holding Mandela's hand the last time he saw him in hospital. "Farewell my dear brother, my mentor, my leader," said Kathrada. Malawian president Joyce Banda praised Machel and Madikizela Mandela for their love and tolerance. Zuma praised Mandela as a pillar of strength and beacon of hope for anyone fighting for a "just world order". "Whilst the long walk to freedom has ended in the physical sense, our own journey continues," said Zuma. Former Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda (89) also paid tribute to Mandela. The Mandela family reportedly requested privacy for the traditional Xhosa part of the burial during which an ox will be slaughtered and a family elder will talk "to the body's spirit" at the coffin which has been draped with a lion's skin.