KUTAMA (Zimbabwe), Oct 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The body of Zimbabwe’s former president Robert Mugabe was buried on Saturday in a low-key ceremony in his home village after weeks of wrangling over his final resting place.
Family members threw white roses into the grave as the coffin of the liberation hero turned despot, draped in navy blue velvet, was lowered to its final resting place in the courtyard of his rural home about 90 kilometres west of Harare.
A boys choir from Mugabe’s old highschool sang in the background.
The burial in the village of Kutama came after the Mugabe family finally opted to reject government proposals that he be laid to rest at the National Heroes Acre in the capital.
Mugabe died in a Singapore hospital on September 6, aged 95, almost two years after a military coup ended his autocratic 37-year rule.
Hundreds of mourners assembled for the burial, which was initially intended to be a private family event.
Many wore white Mugabe-emblazoned T-shirts with the slogans “founding father”, “liberator” and “torch bearer”.
Some sang and danced. Others sat quietly under two white tents.
Mugabe’s widow Grace and his children accompanied the coffin.
Clad in black, they took their places in a VIP tent ahead of the service.
The words “DAD” and “BABA”, meaning “father” in the local Shona language were spelled out in white flowers.
No senior government officials were among the audience.
Former guerrilla leader Mugabe took power after independence from white minority rule in 1980.
Mugabe was toppled by military generals in 2017. — NNN-AGENCIES