Political analyst and director of a local think-tank, Sapes Trust, Ibbo Mandaza, has said that he believes that President Emmerson Mnangagwa wants the late former president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe to be buried at the National Heroes’ Acre to cleanse the November 2017 coup.
Mugabe resigned during Operation Restore Legacy which had been launched by the army. He later said that he had resigned merely to save the situation as his delay or refusal was to result in bloodshed.
Speaking on the impasse between Mugabe’s family and the State over where to bury the former ZANU PF, Mandaza said:
The wish by Mnangagwa to have Mugabe buried at the (National) Heroes Acre is consistent with his objective of concealing the fact of the coup. He wants to sustain the narrative that Mugabe resigned as a founding father of the nation…
The other narrative is the one which says that Mugabe wants to be buried at home. He doesn’t want people like Emmerson (Mnangagwa) to pontificate over him because he feels he was betrayed by Emmerson and Chiwenga (Vice President Constantino).
The two narratives are side by side.
Mugabe died in the early hours of Friday the 5th of September in a hospital in Singapore where he was receiving medical attention.
His body is expected to arrive in the country today as reports suggest that it was scheduled to depart Singapore at 02300 hours Zimbabwean time.
More: VOA Studio7