Kabelo Noe (first left) leads the singing and dancing to celebrating the life and death of Mandela (LI JIANGUO)

"Mandela has been a citizen of Soweto and he was part of us," said local resident Kabelo Noe. Soweto (an abbreviation of South Western Townships) is the sprawling black residential area that lies on the outskirts of Johannesburg.

Kabelo pointed to the house on Vilikazi street where the now deceased former president lived, saying that he still remembered when Mandela came to live there in 1990. He said that he was one of the fortunate young kids who welcomed the South African icon at that time.

Kabelo said on Mandela's passing it is not time to cry, but time to celebrate the great man's life and what he has done for all South Africans, adding it was the local culture to express sadness and happiness through song.

Kabelo was among one of the many singing and dancing groups marching up and down under the hot summer sun on Vilakazi Street outside Mandela's former house on December 8, 2013.

The song praised Mandela's life and legacy rising up above the crowds who kept arriving in droves. In the background media tents lined the street sending live broadcasts of the past days events back to waiting media houses around the world.

Nelson Mandela passed away on December 5, 2013.

(Reporting from Soweto, South Africa)