How did Nelson Mandela react to that society?

People got emotional, some cried, and everyone started talking about Mandela," he added. "I feel very sad. I feel overwhelmed with emotion. He has done so much for us."

Non-South Africans paid tribute to the 95-year-old for bringing the continent's biggest and most sophisticated economy out of decades of apartheid isolation.

"I can speak next to you now because of Nelson Mandela. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be standing here in South Africa now speaking to you," said 31-year-old Congolese businessman Papi Josias, who has been in South Africa for eight years.

"He united many nations. I came to South Africa because Mandela made peace."