The late former President Robert Mugabe who ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years is still proving to be stubborn and cause for controversy even in death as his final resting place still remains a mystery.
A closed door meeting between the President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Mugabe’s family could not break the impasse on his final resting place with a public announcement deferred to Saturday after the funeral service at the National Sports Stadium.
Former Mines Minister Walter Chidhakwa who spoke on behalf of the family told the media that there was no agreement yet on the final resting place of the iconic leader.
Chidhakwa said Grace Mugabe told President Mnangagwa about Mugabe’s last days whereby the former First Lady poured out the former leader’s wishes, putting government’s plans into disarray as the meeting ended without finalizing the matter at hand.
“As you were told, the President met with the former first lady to discuss about the funeral arrangements, the president said what the state wishes for the former president and also Amai Mugabe told him about Mugabe’s last days. For that we are yet to discuss where he will be buried,” he said.
However, President Mnangagwa said the government will follow what the family says adding that they are working to find common ground on sticky issues.
“Mugabe is a hero whom I knew for a long time, he rescued me during the war and sent us to China for training, We have never had a misunderstanding except for that thing which happened which we said let bygones be bygones,” he said.
Speaking to journalists, Mugabe’s Nephew Leo Mugabe said Mugabe’s burial will be a private function rubbishing claims that it will be held on Sunday.
The former ZIFA boss added that after the Saturday funeral service which will be attended by 11 African head of states, the family will take over the funeral proceedings.
Mugabe has been well known for being a cunning negotiator since the Lancaster House meeting in which he fought with words to win back Zimbabwe from the white minority rule.
The agreement came into being after a series of negotiations between the nationalist parties and the Rhodesian Front between September and December 1979.
The former president passed on last Friday, 6 September in Singapore where he was receiving medical treatment and his body arrived in Harare yesterday afternoon at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
