The Zimbabwean government has given the family of the late former president Robert Mugabe a go ahead to bury him in Zvimba communal lands, Mashonaland West, instead of a so-called mausoleum being constructed at the National Heroes Acre.
In an interview, Information Secretary, Nick Mangwana, said the family has a right to designate the burial place of the former Zimbabwean leader, who died of cancer on September 6th in Singapore.
“The family of the later former President R. G. Mugabe has expressed its desire to proceed with his burial in Zvimba. In line with government policy to respect the wishes of families of deceased heroes, government is cooperating with the Mugabe family in their new position.
“Government will render all the necessary support to give the late former president a fitting burial as led by the family.
Reacting to the latest development on Mugabe’s burial, Maureen Kademaunga of the Movement for Democratic Change led by Nelson Chamisa, told VOA Zimbabwe Service that the late former president's burial saga will cost the nation huge sums of money as a mausoleum being built in Harare has been abandoned without proper consultations with relevant stakeholders.
“The Mugabe family had said they don’t want anything to do with the heroes acre. This is something they were saying from the day he was declared dead. So, they just went ahead and did that thing. So they flushed money down the drain … Our members of parliament are going to be demanding accountability. We want to know how much money had gone into that project and how they are going to replace that money.”
The late president will be laid to rest Saturday, according to family members.