Preparations for Nelson Mandela's funeral have been marred by a public spat between the South African government and retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu, one of the most prominent survivors in the long anti-apartheid struggle. 
 
 In this Oct. 29, 1998 photo Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu dance after Tutu handed over the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Pretoria. Tutu was the chairman of the commission... (Associated Press) 
 
 Retired Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu speaks at the memorial service for former South African president Nelson Mandela at the FNB Stadium in Soweto near Johannesburg, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Matt... (Associated Press) 
 
 Retired Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, right, arrives with Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan for the memorial service for former South African president Nelson Mandela at the FNB Stadium in... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Dec. 10, 2013 photo, Retired Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu waits to speak during the memorial service for former South African president Nelson Mandela at the FNB Stadium in Soweto near... (Associated Press) 
 
 Tutu, a Nobel laureate who has strongly criticized the current government, said in a statement Saturday that he will not be attending Mandela's funeral, even though he wishes to pay respects to his longtime friend. 
 
 He says he was not invited _ an apparent snub that the government vehemently denies. 
 
 "Much as I would have loved to attend the service to say a final farewell to someone I loved and treasured, it would have been disrespectful to Tata (Mandela) to gatecrash what was billed as a private family funeral," Tutu said in the statement. "Had I or my office been informed that I would be welcome there is no way on earth that I would have missed it." 
 
 Tutu, 82, said he had cancelled his plans to fly to the Eastern Cape to attend the Sunday funeral after receiving no indication that his name was on the guest list or accreditation list. 
 
 However, Mac Maharaj, a spokesman for the South African presidency, said Tutu is on the guest list and that he hopes a solution will be found that allows Tutu to attend. 
 
 "Certainly he is invited," Maharaj said. "He's an important person." 
 
 He said he did not know whether Tutu had been invited to eulogize Mandela but was certain an invitation to attend had been issued. Tutu has preached at the funerals of most major anti-apartheid figures, including Steve Biko, Chris Hani, Walter Sisulu and others. 
 
 Tutu's daughter, Rev. Mpho Tutu, said in a statement earlier Saturday that her father had not been accredited as a clergyman at Mandela's funeral, to be held in Mandela's home village of Qunu. 
 
 Maharaj said no credentials were needed. 
 
 The issue highlights occasional frictions between Tutu and the current government of President Jacob Zuma. Two years ago, Tutu, an anti-apartheid hero often described as South Africa's conscience, slammed the ANC-led government as "disgraceful" for not issuing a visa to the Dalai Lama. He said it was worse than the country's former oppressive white regime. 
 
 At that time, South African foreign ministry officials denied they stalled on the visa because of pressure from China, a major trading partner. Tutu, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his nonviolent campaign against white racist rule, had invited the Dalai Lama, a fellow Nobel laureate, to South Africa to celebrate Tutu's 80th birthday. The Dalai Lama's office said he was calling off the visit because he didn't expect to get a visa. 
 
 Tutu accused the South African government of failing to side with "Tibetans who are being oppressed viciously by the Chinese." He also charged Zuma with ignoring the contribution religious leaders made to toppling the white Nationalist Party. 
 
 Before April 2009 elections propelled Zuma to the presidency, Tutu had said he was so skeptical of the ANC leader he was considering not casting a ballot. Tutu cited a rape trial in which Zuma was acquitted and corruption charges that were dropped just before the vote. 
 
 Tutu worked closely with Mandela and served as one of the anti-apartheid struggle's most visible public figures during the 27 years when Mandela was imprisoned. Tutu was the chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission created by Mandela's government which investigated apartheid atrocities and he delivered the final report to Mandela in October 1998. ||||| A casket carrying the remains of Nelson Mandela arrived at his hometown of Qunu Saturday, the day before he is to be buried in the native ground he loved. 
 
 People wave at an aircraft carrying the casket of former South African President Nelson Mandela as it takes off from Waterkloof Air Base on the outskirts of Pretoria, South Africa, Saturday, Dec. 14,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Nelson Mandela's former wife, watches a farewell ceremony for former South African President Nelson Mandela from the African National Congress at Waterkloof Air Base on the... (Associated Press) 
 
 Motorcycles escort a hearse carrying the casket of former South African President Nelson Mandela en route to Waterkloof Air Base on the outskirts of Pretoria, South Africa, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013. The... (Associated Press) 
 
 The hearse carrying the body of former South African president, Nelson Mandela arrives at the Waterkloof Air force base in Pretoria Saturday Dec. 14, 2013 from where it will be transported to Qunu for... (Associated Press) 
 
 Former South African President Nelson Mandela’s widow Graca Machel, right, and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Nelson Mandela's former wife, walk together before the arrival of the former president's casket... (Associated Press) 
 
 People hold hands as the hearse carrying the remains of former South African President Nelson Mandela proceeds to Mandela's hometown and burial site in Qunu, South Africa, Saturday Dec. 14, 2013. The... (Associated Press) 
 
 Nelson Mandela’s widow Graca Machel wipes her eyes while attending a farewell ceremony for former South African President Nelson Mandela from the African National Congress at Waterkloof Air Base on the... (Associated Press) 
 
 A mourner wears a pin with a photo of Nelson Madela while attending a farewell ceremony for former South African president from the African National Congress at Waterkloof Air Base on the outskirts of... (Associated Press) 
 
 People wait on the roadside to see a hearse carrying the casket of former South African President Nelson Mandela arrive at Waterkloof Air Base on the outskirts of Pretoria, South Africa, Saturday, Dec.... (Associated Press) 
 
 Motorcycles escort a hearse carrying the casket of former South African President Nelson Mandela en route to Waterkloof Air Base on the outskirts of Pretoria, South Africa, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013. The... (Associated Press) 
 
 Motorcycles escort a hearse carrying the casket of former South African President Nelson Mandela en route to Waterkloof Air Base on the outskirts of Pretoria, South Africa, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013. The... (Associated Press) 
 
 A child draped in the South African national flag gestures while taking a photo of the procession as the body of former president, Nelson Mandela arrives at the Waterkloof Air force base in Pretoria Saturday... (Associated Press) 
 
 Former South African President Nelson Mandela’s widow Graca Machel, right, and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Nelson Mandela's former wife, walk together before the arrival of the former president's casket... (Associated Press) 
 
 Former South African President Nelson Mandela’s widow Graca Machel, right, and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Nelson Mandela's former wife, wipe their tears as the former president's casket arrives at Mthatha... (Associated Press) 
 
 Motorcycles escort a hearse carrying the casket of former South African President Nelson Mandela en route to Waterkloof Air Base on the outskirts of Pretoria, South Africa, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013. The... (Associated Press) 
 
 A hearse carrying the casket of former South African President Nelson Mandela is seen from above as it drives past a bridge en route to Waterkloof Air Base on the outskirts of Pretoria, South Africa,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Motorcycles escort a hearse carrying the casket of former South African President Nelson Mandela en route to Waterkloof Air Base on the outskirts of Pretoria, South Africa, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013. The... (Associated Press) 
 
 Former South African President Nelson Mandela’s widow Graca Machel, right, and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Nelson Mandela's former wife, wipe their tears as the former president's casket arrives at Mthatha... (Associated Press) 
 
 The hearse carrying Mandela's casket, covered with a national flag, arrived at the family compound under cloudy skies at 4 p.m. It was escorted by an enormous convoy of police, military and other vehicles, many flashing emergency lights. A military helicopter hovered near the home. 
 
 On the final journey to his home village, Mandela's memory was honored amid pomp and ceremony Saturday at an air base in the capital before being flown aboard a military plane to this simple village in the wide-open spaces of eastern South Africa. 
 
 At the Mthatha airport Mandela's casket was welcomed by a military guard and placed in a convoy for the 32 kilometer (20 mile) voyage toward Qunu. Residents and people who had traveled for hours thronged a road leading to Qunu, singing and dancing as Mandela T-shirts were handed out. 
 
 "We got up this morning at 2 a.m. and drove from Port Elizabeth _ it's about seven hours _ and we got here now. We're waiting on to show our last respects to Madiba," said Ebrahim Jeftha, using Mandela's clan name. 
 
 Mandela's widow, Graca Machel, and his former wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, tearfully embraced at Mthatha airport when the casket arrived. 
 
 Mandela had been imprisoned for 27 years for opposing racist apartheid and emerged in 1990 to forge a new democratic South Africa by promoting forgiveness and reconciliation. He became president in 1994 after South Africa's first all-race democratic elections. 
 
 Soldiers in full gear, male and female, were stationed on foot on either side of the road from the airport in Mthatha as cows grazed nearby. Some civilians were also already lining the route, shielding themselves from the sun with umbrellas. 
 
 Mandela had longed to spend his final months in his beloved rural village but instead he had spent them in a hospital in Pretoria and then in his home in Johannesburg where he had remained in critical condition, suffering from lung problems and other ailments, until his death. 
 
 There was a surprise announcement in the plans for Sunday's funeral in Mandela's home village of Qunu as retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu said he would not be attending because he had not received an invitation. 
 
 "Much as I would have loved to attend the service to say a final farewell to someone I loved and treasured, it would have been disrespectful to Tata to gatecrash what was billed as a private family funeral. Had I or my office been informed that I would be welcome there is no way on earth that I would have missed it," Tutu said. 
 
 Mac Maharaj, a spokesman for the presidency, said Tutu is on the guest list and that he hopes Tutu will attend. He said he was surprised by the statement and was looking into it for possible solutions. 
 
 "This is not an event where you need credentials and I hope a solution can be found," Maharaj said. "He's an important person and I hope ways can be found for him to be there." 
 
 In Qunu, residents expressed deep affection for their beloved native son. 
 
 "Long live the spirit of Nelson Mandela," chanted a crowd on a highway near Mandela's compound. 
 
 "My president," they sang. 
 
 There were also old songs of the anti-apartheid struggle. 
 
 "Release Mandela from prison," went the chorus of one. 
 
 Many people carried small national flags or banners with a smiling image of Mandela. Periodically, police and other official vehicles passed by, heading to the compound. 
 
 Khanyisa Qatolo, 28, was born in Qunu and attended children's Christmas parties hosted by Mandela at his home when she was a child in the 1990s. 
 
 "I remember his smile," she said. "I miss his smile." 
 
 Qatolo said she was disappointed that local residents would be unable to go to Mandela's funeral, in line with local custom, and had instead been asked by officials to view the final rites on big video screens in the area. 
 
 "The people of the community, they should be there, supporting the family," she said. 
 
 "I feel bad not to go there," she said. 
 
 Milly Viljoen, 43, drove 12 hours through the night with a friend to stand on the roadside overlooking Mandela's compound in Qunu. 
 
 `"It's befitting to see him to his final resting place," she said. 
 
 Viljoen, a student activist during apartheid, first saw Mandela when he appeared before an enthralled crowd in Cape Town after he was released in 1990. She met him later when he visited the township school where she was teaching. 
 
 "You couldn't help but love the man and be touched and hang onto his every word," she said. 
 
 Mandela's widow Graca Machel, wearing black, wept and wiped tears from under her glasses at a farewell ceremony at an air base in Pretoria Saturday morning. Mandela's former wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, looking stricken, was also there as well as Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and former South African President Thabo Mbeki. 
 
 The late president died in his Johannesburg home Dec. 5 at age 95. 
 
 His body lay in state for three days this week, drawing huge crowds of South Africans who mourned his death and celebrated his successful struggle against apartheid. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Gregory Katz in Johannesburg contributed to this report.
– Nelson Mandela's body arrived in his home village of Qunu today ahead of a funeral and burial tomorrow, the AP reports. The hearse carrying his casket was escorted by throngs of police, military, and other vehicles after being flown from the South African capital on a military plane. Many locals drove hours to watch as the hearse made its 20-mile drive from the Mthatha airport to Mandela's final resting place. But the day was marked with a bit of controversy, too, as retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu claimed he would not be attending tomorrow's funeral because the current government, which he has often publicly criticized in the past, did not invite him. "Much as I would have loved to attend the service to say a final farewell to someone I loved and treasured, it would have been disrespectful to Tata (Mandela) to gatecrash what was billed as a private family funeral," he said in a statement. But a government spokesperson says Tutu is in fact on the guest list. Click for more on the tribal rituals that will play a role in tomorrow's ceremony.