Zimbabwean president says mausoleum being built for Mugabe, burial postponed
CGTN
A casket carrying the remains of Robert Mugabe is taken to the military helicopter after viewing of his body at the Rufaro stadium, in Mbare, Harare, September 12, 2019. /VCG Photo

A casket carrying the remains of Robert Mugabe is taken to the military helicopter after viewing of his body at the Rufaro stadium, in Mbare, Harare, September 12, 2019. /VCG Photo

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday said the government is building a mausoleum for its late ex-president Robert Mugabe at the National Heroes Acre.

A mausoleum is a stately or impressive building housing a tomb or group of tombs.

There will be no burial on Sunday, said the president at the State House soon after meeting with visiting Equatorial Guinea leader Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who came to pay his condolences.

"We are having a memorial service tomorrow at the National Sports Stadium. We are building a mausoleum for our founding father on top of the hill at Heroes Acre, it will not be finished, so we will only bury him after we have completed construction of the mausoleum," Mnangagwa said, without revealing when the burial will take place.

The confirmation ended the speculation that had gripped the country about Mugabe's burial place since his death last Friday. He died at the age of 95 in Singapore where he had been receiving medical treatment.

Mourners arrive at Rufaro Stadium, in Mbare township where the body of Zimbabwe's founder Robert Mugabe will lie in state, Harare, September 12, 2019. /VCG Photo

Mourners arrive at Rufaro Stadium, in Mbare township where the body of Zimbabwe's founder Robert Mugabe will lie in state, Harare, September 12, 2019. /VCG Photo

The uncertainty had been fuelled by reports that the former leader had told his family in his last days that he wanted to be buried at his rural home in Zvimba, next to his mother.

A formal funeral service will be held on Saturday at the National Sports Stadium, which is expected to be attended by 11 heads of state and government from the continent.

The late former president's nephew Leo Mugabe was reported to say that Robert Mugabe's body would return to his home village and he would possibly be buried in a month's time.

Mugabe resigned in 2017 after 37 years in power.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency