More than 250,000 people paid their last respects to Pope Franci over three days of public viewing by ordinary mourners and statesmen alike that ended Friday, the eve of his state funeral in St. Peter’s Square and burial in a basilica outside the Vatican’s walls.

World leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei, along with royalty, converged on Rome for the funeral, but the group of marginalized people who will meet his casket in a small crosstown basilica are more in keeping with Francis’ humble persona and disdain for pomp.

The Vatican said that 164 delegations are confirmed, including 54 heads of state and 12 reigning sovereigns. French President Emmanuel Macron, who will also attend the funeral, was among those who made it in time to pay last respects to the pope.

Papal burial

In keeping with Francis’ embrace of the marginalized, the Vatican said a group of poor and needy people will meet the pope’s coffin to pay homage to him when it arrives at St. Mary Major Basilica for burial on Saturday. It has already become a point of pilgrimage.

The tomb is being prepared behind a wooden barrier within the basilica that he chose to be near an icon of the Madonna that he revered and often prayed before. The burial will take place in private, the Vatican said.

Photos released by the Vatican on Friday show the marble tombstone flat against the pavement, with the simple engraving in Latin that he requested in his last testament: “Franciscus.”

Cardinals will visit the St. Mary Major Basilica on Sunday. Entering through the Holy Door, they will visit the Salus Populi Romani icon, which was dear to Francis, and celebrate evening prayers, the Vatican said.

Security measures

Italy is deploying more than 2,500 police officers and 1,500 soldiers to provide security during the funeral, which is expected to gather about 200,000 mourners in St. Peter’s Square and up to 300,000 people along the 4-kilometer (2½-mile) route from the Vatican to the pope’s burial place across Rome.

The major security operation includes stationing an armed naval vessel off the coast, and putting squads of fighter jets on standby, Italian media reported.

Tanzania’s main opposition party said Thursday that two of its senior officials were arrested on their way to court to attend the proceedings against their party leader, who faces treason charges for calling for reforms ahead of October elections.

The opposition CHADEMA party leader Tundu Lissu, who returned to Tanzania last year after living on and off in exile since 2017 over threats to his life, was arrested on April 9 after a public rally where he called for electoral reforms. He was charged with treason, which carried the death penalty.

The party’s spokesperson, Brenda Rupia, wrote on X on Thursday that CHADEMA’s deputy chairperson, John Heche, and secretary general, John Mnyika, were arrested and that their whereabouts remain unknown.

The authorities have not confirmed the arrests so far and The Associated Press could not reach government officials for comment.

Meanwhile, Lissu refused to appear in court virtually and the proceedings were subsequently postponed until April 28. He is being represented by a team of 31 lawyers, led by Mpale Mpoki, who filed an objection to the case being heard remotely.

Outside the court in the country’s commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, violence erupted as riot police beat opposition supporters, injuring dozens, Rupia said.

Human rights activists have accused the government of President Samia Suluhu Hassan of heavy-handed tactics against the opposition, claims that the government denies.

Hassan is serving out her autocratic predecessor John Magufuli’s term after he died in office in 2021. The next presidential and parliamentary elections are due in October.

CHADEMA has criticized the absence of an independent electoral commission, as well as laws that favor the ruling party, CCM, which has been in power since Tanzania’s independence in 1961.

New Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah announced Thursday that her government will introduce free higher education at state universities and technical colleges starting next year.

Nandi-Ndaitwah, who was sworn in as Namibia’s first female leader last month, made the announcement while delivering her State of the Nation speech to Parliament. “I am pleased to announce that from the next academic year, commencing 2026, tertiary education will become 100% subsidized by the government,” she said.

Namibia already provides free education in public elementary and high schools, though parents still typically have to pay for school uniforms, stationery, books and hostel fees. The new policy would remove tuition and registration fees at universities and colleges. T

here have been calls for years for all levels of education to be subsidized by the government in the country of around 3 million people in southern Africa. “We have heard your cries,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said. She said the policy was aimed at improving opportunities for young people amid problems of youth unemployment and poverty. Around 2.1 million Namibians are under the age of 35, according to official figures.

Two of Namibia’s seven universities are state run and will offer free education under the policy. All of its seven vocational training centers are government-run and will also no longer charge tuition fees.