Zimbabwe’s longtime ruler Robert Mugabe will be buried in his home district of Zvimba, not at a national shrine in Harare as previously planned, the information ministry said on Thursday.
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Mugabe, who ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years until he was ousted by his own army in November 2017, died in a Singapore hospital on Sept. 6 aged
Zimbabweans have been gripped by a public feud between government and Mugabe’s family over where the country’s long-ruling leader would be buried.
While the last years of his reign faced heavy criticism, Mugabe, nonetheless, was considered a national hero who helped bring about his nation's independence.
“President Mugabe did not want to be buried at the Heroes Acre to stop those who tormented him in his final days from pontificating over his dead body,” a relative told Zim Live. “It would be unconscionable to have him buried next to the man whom he held most responsible."
A state funeral service was held in honor of Mugabe on September 14th; it was attended by two dozen current and former African heads of state, but the burial was postponed amid haggling between the family and the government over his final resting place.