Zimbabwe’s former President Robert Mugabe will be buried early next week in his village and not at a national monument for liberation heroes as per the government’s plan, a family spokesman confirmed on Thursday, reported Reuters.
Mugabe’s nephew Leo Mugabe said his body will be displayed in his home village of Kutama on Sunday night, and will be buried at a private ceremony.
“His body will lie in state at Kutama on Sunday night.. followed by a private burial – either Monday or Tuesday – no National Heroes Acre. That’s the decision of the whole family,” Leo told AFP news agency on Thursday.
Leo refrained from revealing where the burial ceremony would take place.
Aged 95, Mugabe died last week Singapore where he was receiving medical treatment. His body arrived in Zimbabwe from Singapore on Wednesday. Mugabe held on to power for almost four decades. His rule ended in a military coup in 2017 following massive protests.
The former President’s family is at odds with the Zimbabwean government over Mugabe’s burial site. The government wants to bury him or at the National Heroes Acre in the capital, while the former president’s family wants to perform his last rites in his homestead in Kutama, northwest of Harare.
The family even issued a statement saying it was concerned about the manner in which the government was preparing the programme for Mugabe’s funeral “without consulting his immediate family”.
On Thursday, Mugabe’s supporters and the common people of Zimbabwe are expected to pay their last respects to the former president at a Harare soccer stadium, where the body will lie in state for two days.
Mugabe’s state funeral will take place on Saturday in Harare. Chinese President Xi Jinping, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, former Cuban leader Raul Castro, and some other African presidents are expected to attend the funeral.
