Ms Mandela said his wife Graca, the children and grandchildren were all there to say goodbye.

 

South Africa is observing a series of commemorations over the next week, leading up to the funeral on Sunday.

 

More than 100 current or former heads of state or government will attend the funeral or Tuesday's national memorial.

 

Makaziwe Mandela told the BBC's Komla Dumor: "Until the last moment he had us, you know... The children were there, the grandchildren were there, Graca was there, so we are always around him and even at the last moment, we were sitting with him on Thursday the whole day."

 

She said: "I think from last week, Friday until Thursday, it was a wonderful time, if you can say the process of death is wonderful. But Tata [Nelson Mandela] had a wonderful time, because we were there.

 

"When the doctors told us I think Thursday morning... that there was nothing that they could do, and said to me 'Maki call everybody that is here that wants to see him and say bye bye', it was a most wonderful day for us because the grandchildren were there, we were there."

 

Ms Mandela paid tribute² to the doctors for the 24-hour care.

 

She said: "It was like there were soldiers guarding this period of the king - yes my father comes from royalty³ - without them knowing they were actually practising our rituals⁴ and culture, they were there in silence and when we as family members come in they would excuse themselves and just a few of them would be there to give us the time to be around my dad's bed."

 

Ms Mandela said that, for the past few months, she would tell her father that she loved him and that would see him again tomorrow.

 

"And maybe he would open his eyes for just a second and close those eyes," she said.

 

Ms Mandela said she believed her father had fought not just for political freedom but also for spiritual freedom.

 

"He talks about the fact that it takes courage to forgive. Forgiveness is a very difficult thing," she said.

 

"I think he knew that if he didn't forgive, he would be forever imprisoned⁵ spiritually. The lesson we can take from his life is to have the courage to forgive other people.

 

"None of us are born hating another - we are taught to hate and if you can teach a human being to hate you can also teach a human being to love, to embrace⁶ and to forgive."

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