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Zimbabwe to hold state funeral for Mugabe on Sept. 14

The Zimbabwean government has signaled plans to hold a state funeral for former president Robert Mugabe on Saturday September 14.

Reuters reported that the government has sent out a memo to embassies on Sunday stating that the funeral will take place in the National Sports Stadium in Harare.

The government also said a burial ceremony is planned for the day after the state funeral, but exactly where he would be buried is unclear.

Some members of Mugabe’s family say he didn’t want to be buried at the National Heroes Acre – a site reserved for the country’s heroes.

Mugabe reportedly is unhappy with how he was forced to resign from office, but the government insists there is no disagreement over the burial ground for Mugabe.

The memo was sent by Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to embassies in Harare, according to Reuters.

Robert Mugabe died last week after battling illness for months. He died in Singapore where he had gone for medical treatment.

His country has declared him a national hero and a state funeral will take place when his body arrived back home on Wednesday.

Mugabe was born on 21 February 1924, in what was then Rhodesia. He led Zimbabwe to independence in 1980 and has ruled the country for decades.

Mugabe was Zimbabwe’s first post-independence leader but resigned from power after a military takeover in November 2017.

Robert Mugabe first served as prime minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as president from 1987 to 2017.

Source: Africafeeds.com

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