African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma may be a commoner, but his inauguration as the fourth democratically-elected President of South Africa on Saturday was a lavish ceremony fit for a Zulu king.
Despite an early downpour of rain - a blessing in African tradition - five thousand guests wrapped in colourful blankets and protected by a sea of black umbrellas gathered for the event in the open-air amphitheatre of the Union Buildings in Pretoria, the seat of South Africa's executive authority.
The inauguration, held under the theme: "Together celebrating a vibrant democracy and building a better life for all," cost an estimated R75 million (U.S. $9 million).
An air of ebullience pervaded as the VIPs made their way to the pastel-coloured materials covering their seats. They were dressed in grand style, with some donning formal wear and others in bright traditional outfits.
A small crowd in the amphitheatre - headed by the Communist Party's Blade Nzimande, wearing a red tie, and the ANC Youth League leader, Julius Malema - chanted pro-Zuma songs. A marching band dressed in green and red dotted the entrance of the Union Buildings as African heads of state were welcomed.
Among them were Swaziland's King Mswati III - present despite strong protest from South African trade unions - Rwanda's Paul Kagame, Tanzania's Jakaya Kikwete, Nigeria's Umaru Yar'Adua, Libya's Muammar al-Gaddafi - attired in a general's uniform - and Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe - accompanied by his wife, Grace Mugabe, who looked stylish in a silver and red outfit with red headgear. All occupied the front benches in the amphitheatre.
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Jacob Zuma, dressed in a dark suit with a grey tie, and his first wife, Sizakele (MaKhumalo), wearing a gold raw silk suit with a purple head scarf walked up the red carpet before embracing former president Thabo Mbeki and exchanging a few words with world icon Nelson Mandela.
The swearing-in started with prayers in four different languages, after which outgoing President Kgalema Motlanthe bestowed the Order of Mapungubwe on Zuma.
This was followed by the administration of the oath, presided over by Chief Justice Pius Langa.
The ceremony ended to the tunes of Miriam Makaba's famous song, Pata Pata, a 21-gun military salute and a splendid display by the South African Air Force which left trails the colours of the South African flag in the sky.
The southern lawn of the Union Buildings erupted in ululation as about 30,000 revellers danced and sang jubilantly ahead of Zuma's inaugural address.
South Africa's foreign ministry named other African heads of state who attended as King Letsie III of Lesotho and Presidents Girma Wolde of Ethiopia, Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, Armando Guebuza of Mozambique, Hikifunye Pohamba of Namibia, Eduardo dos Santos of Angola and Rupiah Banda of Zambia, Denis Sassou-Nguesso of Congo-Brazzaville, Laurent Gbagbo of Cote d' Ivoire, Theodore Nguema of Equatorial Guinea and James Michel of Seychelles.
