Rituals fuel tensions over Mugabe's funeral

Wednesday September 18 2019


Relatives follow pallbearers carrying coffin of late former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe as they leave the National Sports Stadium in Harare after attending a farewell ceremony on September 14, 2019. PHOTO | ZINYANGE AUNTONY | AFP 









Once Mugabe's remains were returned to Zvimba on Monday, traditional leaders demanded the burial remain in line with local rites.

One of the Zvimba chiefs, Raphael Zvikaramba, said they had "so far" accepted the government's proposal, but refused to comment on the details.

"(Zvimba) chiefs are buried in caves and the burial is secretly conducted at night," Mugabe's nephew Dominic Matibiri told AFP, standing outside his late uncle's rural house.

Cultural beliefs


"When a chief such as Mugabe dies, he is not a person that can be buried at Heroes Acre, that is forbidden. He should be buried in a cave," Burombo told AFP.

"Mugabe was not just a president, but he was the embodiment of the spirit of Kaguvi," he added, referring to one of Zimbabwe's revered spirit mediums and pre-colonial nationalist leader.

When a chief died, often his body "would be dried", his teeth "extracted" and his finger and toenails "ripped off", Burombo said.

He said the body would then be wrapped in skin hides before burial, and could even be swapped with a token such as a goat's head to be buried instead.

"You can build that monument, but it doesn't mean that is where the remains of Mugabe will be buried... it's just for people to continue remembering him."

Mugabe grew up Catholic and was educated by Jesuits. But according to Burombo, he still followed "traditional norms and practices" despite "going to church".


During a mass held in his honour, priest Emmanuel Ribeiro—a former acquaintance—said the former president "was secretive and private" about his beliefs.

Retired sociology professor Claude Mararike told AFP the secrecy surrounding the funerals of traditional chiefs had "long vanished".

"Very few people knew where the chief was buried," Mararike said. "There were caves where a particular clan normally buried their own chiefs."

But Mararike said that long-standing political tensions between the family and government "might have precipitated" the discord and mystery surrounding the funeral.

Mugabe's family are still bitter over the role current President Emmerson Mnangagwa played in his ouster.

A former guerrilla who fought alongside Mugabe against colonial forces, Mnangagwa was fired as first vice president in 2017. Mugabe had branded him a "traitor".

Soon after, protesters took to the streets and military officers pressured Mugabe to step down in what was widely seen as a struggle between Mnangagwa's faction and loyalists to Mugabe's wife Grace inside the ruling Zanu-PF party.

"There obviously was quite a lot of anger among the Zvimba people on how their son was removed from office," said Mararike.

"The late president Mugabe might have said something before he died," he added referring to how he wanted to be buried, "but what he really said we don't know".