President Emmerson Mnangagwa has given the late football legend Rahman Gumbo a state-assisted funeral, but there are concerns that the ruling party, ZANU PF, has hijacked the funeral arrangements.
A letter from ZANU PF’s secretary general, Obert Mpofu, referred to Gumbo as “Cde Gumbo,” a term commonly used for ZANU PF members and supporters. It seems that the party’s Bulawayo office is coordinating the funeral, even though Gumbo’s connection to the ruling party is not well-known. Mpofu wrote:
His Excellency the President and the First Secretary of Zanu PF, Cde ED Mnangagwa has conferred a state-assisted funeral to the late Cde Rahman Allen Thulani Gumbo who died on 10 November 2023. His family can be contacted through the Bulawayo provincial office.
I shall be most grateful if you would make the usual arrangements for his burial and payments of benefits to his family. He is from Bulawayo province.
Rahman Gumbo, a former football star who played for the Dream Team in the 1990s, passed away at the age of 59 in Botswana, where he had been coaching. His body will be brought back to Zimbabwe on Thursday for burial in Bulawayo on Saturday.
Gumbo joins a growing list of celebrities, including athletes and musicians, who have been given state-assisted funerals under President Mnangagwa’s government. This list includes Ann Nhira, Stella Chiweshe, Zexie Manatsa, Gibson Mandishona, Cont Mhlanga, Elvis Mathe, Thembinkosi Mpofu, and Elvis Nyathi. However, in contrast to Gumbo, the decisions regarding the funerals of these individuals were made by the government and not by the ZANU PF party. It is customary for ZANU PF to take charge of burial arrangements for its party members.