HARARE, Sept 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Zimbabwe was on Saturday due to begin a period of national mourning following the death of Robert Mugabe, the former guerrilla hero turned despot who ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years.
As Zimbabweans expressed sharply divided opinions about Mugabe, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said his predecessor had been declared a “national hero” and that Zimbabwe would mourn him until the burial.
“The late departed icon will be eternally remembered and honoured for the
bold and historic land reform programme which he undertook,” said Mnangagwa during a national address broadcast on television.
Mugabe, 95, passed away on Friday at 0240 GMT in Singapore, where he had been hospitalised in April.
In SINGAPORE, Adam Molai, Mugabe’s nephew, said the former president died of old age “surrounded by family”.
“We are pained by his loss. But we also celebrate the life of a legend. He
was a living legend. He was a pan-Africanist. He brought the country of
Zimbabwe from colonialism to the freedom that we had,” Molai told reporters outside the funeral parlour in Singapore.
He said the president was likely to announce when the body would move
“sometime next week”, adding that he could give no further details on the
“state funeral”. — NNN-AGENCIES
