Zimbabwe’s ex-president Mugabe buried in rural village

The body of Zimbabwe’s former president Robert Mugabe was buried on Saturday in his rural village of Kutama, an AFP reporter at the scene said.

Mugabe died in a Singapore hospital on September 6, aged 95, almost two years after a military coup ended his despotic 37-year rule.

Hundreds of mourners assembled for the low-key event, which was initially intended to be a private family ceremony.

Many wore white Mugabe-emblazoned T-shirts with the slogans “founding father”, “liberator” and “torch bearer.”

Some were singing and dancing. Others sat quietly under two white tents set up for the occasion.

Mugabe’s widow Grace and his children accompanied the casket – drapped in Zimbabwe’s green, yellow, red and black flag.

No senior government officials were among the audience.

The Mugabe family decided to bury Zimbabwe’s founding father in Kutama after weeks of wrangling with the government, who wanted the body to rest at the National Heroes Acre in Harare.

A mausoleum was being constructed at the site, which is reserved for heroes of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle.