Pomp and ceremony for presidential inauguration

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The presidential inauguration to be held at the Union Buildings in Pretoria today will be accompanied by pomp and ceremony befitting an incoming head of state and government.

Much of this will include the participation of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), with a full battalion pledging its allegiance to the Republic of South Africa and President-elect Cyril Ramaphosa as the country’s commander-in-chief.

The battalion comprises the South African Army, Air Force, the Navy, and the Military Health Service which includes the National Ceremonial Guard with its military band.

The Airforce is scheduled to perform a 21-gun salute heralding the commencement of South Africa’s 7th administration.

Ramaphosa, who was elected as President for the second term after the May 29 elections, will also inspect the SANDF’s battalion to be accompanied by a massed flypast.

Meanwhile, several heads of state from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) such as Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Cuban Vice President Salvador Valdés Mesa, King Mswati III of the Kingdom of Eswatini, Côte d’Ivoire Vice President Tiemoko Meyliet Koné, Samia Hassan of the United Republic of Tanzania, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu have already arrived in the country for the inauguration.

Proceedings are expected to start at 11am.

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