Even as leaders of several African nations arrived at Zimbabwe's capital Harare for the funeral of Robert Mugabe on Saturday, the country's first president will be buried only after a month. Robert Mugabe (95) died a week ago.
Robert Mugabe's nephew, Leo Mugabe, who is the family's spokesperson, said it would take about a month to complete a new mausoleum for the late leader. The delay comes after a tussle between Robert Mugabe's family and the government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa on his burial site.
The family had initially insisted on burying Robert Mugabe at his hometown of Kutama, while the government proposed to lay him to rest at the National Heroes Acre, a hilltop shrine in Harare built in honour of Zimbabweans who died in the fight against white minority rule.
Leo Mugabe had said on Thursday that Robert would be given a private burial at Kutama on “Monday or Tuesday”. However, the family changed its plans a day later after the government announced a mausoleum would be built for Robert Mugabe at the National Heroes Acre. The family of Robert Mugabe has been bitter with the government of Mnangagwa for edging the veteran leader out of power after 37 years in office in 2017.
Reuters reported Mnangagwa wanted to bury Robert Mugabe at the National Heroes Acre to “show that the (ZANU-PF) party is united behind his political and economic agenda”.
Meanwhile, about a dozen African leaders are expected to pay respects to Robert Mugabe at his state funeral service at the National Sports Stadium in Harare on Saturday. Despite being criticised for his dictatorial rule and economic mismanagement, several African leaders had lauded Robert Mugabe for his fight against colonial rule. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is in Harare with a handful of cabinet ministers, while Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent an emissary.
Despite Mugabe's larger-than-life influence on Zimbabwe over the past four decades, the BBC reported his funeral had evoked little emotion in Harare. The BBC noted, “many people in Harare are likely to shun the ceremony as soaring inflation and unemployment grip the country”.