The president of South Africa has led tributes to Nelson Mandela, describing him as a “beacon of hope”, as the anti-apartheid hero was laid to rest in a family plot.

Nelson Mandela was buried yesterday in the African ground that he loved after a funeral ceremony that included a 21-gun salute, fly-overs by military aircraft, and a eulogy by a traditional leader wearing an animal skin.

Nelson Mandela has been buried in the African ground he loved after a funeral ceremony that included a 21-gun salute and fly-overs by military aircraft as well as a eulogy by a traditional leader wearing an animal skin.

South African military jets and helicopters have flown over after pallbearers placed Nelson Mandela’s casket over the grave following his funeral ceremony.

Big guns have fired a salute in the rural village where Nelson Mandela grew up and military servicemen marched stiffly behind his casket on a winding dirt road as South Africa said goodbye for the last time to the man who reconciled the country in its most vulnerable period.