Tears and tributes as leaders, supporters bid farewell to Zimbabwe's Mugabe

[rooster59]

Tears and tributes as leaders, supporters bid farewell to Zimbabwe's Mugabe

By Alexander Winning

 

The body of Zimbabwe's founder and longtime ruler Robert Mugabe is brought to the national sports stadium for a state funeral in Harare, Zimbabwe, September 14, 2019. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

 

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's founder Robert Mugabe was honoured as an icon, principled leader and African intellectual giant at a state funeral on Saturday, after a week of disputes over his burial threatened to embarrass President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

 

Mugabe led Zimbabwe for 37 years, from independence until he was ousted by the army in November 2017, by which time he was viewed by many at home and abroad as a power-obsessed autocrat who unleashed death squads, rigged elections and ruined the economy to keep control.

 

He died in a Singapore hospital on Sept. 6 aged 95, far away from a country he left polarised by a raging political rivalry between its two largest political parties, ZANU-PF and the opposition MDC.

 

His remains will be interred in a mausoleum at the National Heroes Acre in the capital Harare in about 30 days, his nephew said on Friday, contradicting earlier comments that a burial would be held on Sunday.

 

On Saturday, Mnangagwa walked behind the casket carrying Mugabe's body as it was wheeled into the centre of Harare's National Sports Stadium and placed on a podium decorated with flowers so that heads of state could say their farewells. Senior army generals and Mugabe's wife and children followed, as a brass band played.

 

The 60,000 seater stadium was only half-filled.

 

In a tribute to his predecessor, Mnangagwa said Mugabe stood in defence of Africans. He urged the West to remove sanctions that were imposed during Mugabe's rule.

 

"We who remain shall continue to hear his rich, brave, defiant and inspiring voice ... encouraging and warning us to be vigilant and astute," Mnangagwa said in a speech.

 

"A giant tree of Africa has fallen. Today Africa weeps."

 

Mnangagwa and the ruling ZANU-PF party wanted Mugabe buried at the national shrine to heroes of the 15-year liberation war against white minority rule. But some relatives, expressing bitterness at the way former comrades ousted Mugabe, had pushed for him to be buried in his home village.

 

Walter Chidhakwa, who spoke on behalf of Mugabe's family, said Mugabe was an icon who was determined and unflinching in pursuing policies like land reform and later the black economic empowerment programme.

 

Mugabe left behind a country wrecked by hyperinflation, dollarisation and deeply entrenched corruption.

 

But many Zimbabweans also remember Mugabe as their country's liberator from white minority rule and for broadening people's access to education and land.

 

RAMAPHOSA BOOED

 

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was booed by the crowd in the stadium after a wave of deadly riots and xenophobic attacks in South Africa earlier this month that triggered international anger. The attacks mainly targeted shops owned by African migrants.

 

The master of ceremony was forced to appeal to the crowd to give Ramaphosa a chance to speak.

 

"I stand before you as a fellow African to express my regret and to apologise for what has happened in our country," Ramaphosa said, to cheering from the crowd.

Kenya's Uhuru Kenyatta called Mugabe an intellectual giant, "a visionary leader and a relentless champion of African dignity."

 

Other heads of state who attended Saturday's funeral included long-ruling leaders from Equatorial Guinea and Congo while China, Russia and Cuba, which supported Zimbabwe's liberation movements that fought white minority rule, were represented by officials.

 

Prominent officials from Western countries, which were critical of Mugabe's rule, did not feature in the official funeral programme.

 

Mnangagwa led heads of state in viewing Mugabe's body, which was followed by a military 21-gun salute to honour Mugabe.

 

Banners at the stadium where Mugabe's body lay in state read "Hamba kahle, Gushungo," (go well, Gushungo)", a reference to his clan name, and "Go well our revolutionary icon".

 

Cleo Mapuranga, a caterer, told Reuters that Mugabe fought to give land and economic freedom to blacks and provided non-racial education.

 

"Now, people are suffering. No one is controlling the prices in the shops. Our finance minister is trying to implement first-world policies which don't work in third-world countries."

 

Mugabe's death has made some Zimbabweans question what Mnangagwa has achieved in his two years in power.

 

His government has taken steps to cut the budget deficit, remove subsidies on fuel and power and repeal laws curbing public and media freedoms, but those reforms and austerity measures have compounded ordinary people's hardships.

 

(Reporting by Alexander Winning; Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo, Catherine Evans and Mark Potter)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-09-14

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[tifino]

 

[bangrak]

I hope there will be a detailed photographic archive made of all the persons attending, as there's, erm, suspicion, ALL of them are part of the African 'vampires'' 'foodchain', to 'pay respect' to one of the most despicable dictators Africa has counted in the last 50 years. And to repatriate the remains of such a piece of ..., and give him a hero's burial on top of it, clearly shows how long the way is for African countries, to, once, maybe, deserve a place among, young, democratic countries! Oh, and who is the P.R. of China sending to attend to this scandal?

P.S.: Who is going to attend for the Shinawatra family, considering the important interests the clan had secured in this dictatorship, gem mining rights, state lottery, etc., it's not for nothing Thaksin has a couple of Zimbabwean passports, including a diplomatic one, is it?

[tifino]

string him up here... 

 - closer to the vultures

 - away from the clutches of his sympathisers, who'd luv to open up and have some keepsake...

 

[Totoandlilly]

You will be missed, one of the greatest person walked on earth.. 

[the guest]

He was a murderous villain, a scoundrel and a criminal. We won't miss bad rubbish!

[thequietman]

Seriously ...... tears for this piece of <deleted>!

[sirmud63]

57 minutes ago, Totoandlilly said:

You will be missed, one of the greatest person walked on earth.. 

i truely hope thats sarcasm.

[GalaxyMan]

Good riddance to a corrupt assshoole. May he rot in hell forever.

[daveAustin]

Only the good die young.

[klauskunkel]

13 hours ago, rooster59 said:

followed by a military 21-gun salute to honour Mugabe

that's a western concept

[PJPom]

I was on HMS Tiger when Smith and the UK Gov held talks for a peaceful solution to the gradual handing over of power to Africans.

These of course were a failure and Mugabe and Nkomo gained power, interesting to note that Nkomo fled the country soon after and moved into the Savoy or Dorchester in London never daring to return.

Mugabe surrounded himself with his tribal cronies and destroyed all opposition and through so called land distribution destroyed the country’s ability to feed itself, the rest of Africa and the UK did nothing at all to stop him.

Politics in Africa are very strange to Westerners, tribal loyalties are very much the main focus and regardless of the actions will always prevail.

His overthrow was just a changing of the Jockey, the Horse will continue on the same path of corruption and destruction, just keep sending your aid monies, Mercedes need replacing often.

PS if you wish to be PC , he was a heroic native leader who wrested power from the evil white colonial masters and returned the country to the people, .....allowing them to starve.

[cheshiremusicman]

54 minutes ago, klauskunkel said:

that's a western concept

Not when they are aiming at the coffin. Rot in hell you basxxxd.

[rudi49jr]

14 hours ago, the guest said:

He was a murderous villain, a scoundrel and a criminal. We won't miss bad rubbish!

 

13 hours ago, thequietman said:

Seriously ...... tears for this piece of <deleted>!

Plenty of people in Spain still admire and miss Franco, same with Italy and Mussolini. The list goes on. Lot of braindead people out there who don’t give a tiny rat’s ass about democracy, human rights and things like that and will blindly follow their leader.

[Geoffggi]

16 hours ago, rooster59 said:

The 60,000 seater stadium was only half-filled.

Not from other reports I've seen the stadium was sparsely occupied by both people who liked & hate him good riddance....  

[helloagain]

16 hours ago, bangrak said:

I hope there will be a detailed photographic archive made of all the persons attending, as there's, erm, suspicion, ALL of them are part of the African 'vampires'' 'foodchain', to 'pay respect' to one of the most despicable dictators Africa has counted in the last 50 years. And to repatriate the remains of such a piece of ..., and give him a hero's burial on top of it, clearly shows how long the way is for African countries, to, once, maybe, deserve a place among, young, democratic countries! Oh, and who is the P.R. of China sending to attend to this scandal?

P.S.: Who is going to attend for the Shinawatra family, considering the important interests the clan had secured in this dictatorship, gem mining rights, state lottery, etc., it's not for nothing Thaksin has a couple of Zimbabwean passports, including a diplomatic one, is it?

Feed him to the lions. He ruined that country

[Jack Mountain]

16 hours ago, bangrak said:

I hope there will be a detailed photographic archive made of all the persons attending, as there's, erm, suspicion, ALL of them are part of the African 'vampires'' 'foodchain', to 'pay respect' to one of the most despicable dictators Africa has counted in the last 50 years. And to repatriate the remains of such a piece of ..., and give him a hero's burial on top of it, clearly shows how long the way is for African countries, to, once, maybe, deserve a place among, young, democratic countries! Oh, and who is the P.R. of China sending to attend to this scandal?

P.S.: Who is going to attend for the Shinawatra family, considering the important interests the clan had secured in this dictatorship, gem mining rights, state lottery, etc., it's not for nothing Thaksin has a couple of Zimbabwean passports, including a diplomatic one, is it?

Family being kicked out of Rhodesia?