Sundaymail Editor
Garikai Mazara
Online News Editor
The body of former President Robert Gabriel Mugabe was received by President Emmerson Mnangagwa Wednesday afternoon at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
The body arrived aboard a chartered aeroplane that left Zimbabwe Monday morning to Singapore, to collect the body. The delegation to the Asian country was led by Vice President Kembo Mohadi.
Former President Mugabe passed away in Singapore on Friday September 6. He was 95 years old.
The returning delegation included former First Lady, Mrs Grace Mugabe, and several close family members.
Addressing the hundreds of mourners who gathered at the airport to receive the remains of the founding President, President Mnangagwa paid tribute to the role Cde Mugabe played in shaping present-day Zimbabwe.
“Cde Mugabe was the founding father, an icon of Pan-Africanism and we are gathered here to receive his body. My sincere condolences to the former First Lady and the immediate Mugabe family for their loss, which is also our loss.
“Zimbabweans are aggrieved and in mourning . . . may I take this opportunity to say on Sunday, as we lay him to rest, let us all show our love, in our hundreds, in our thousands, and attend the event,” the President said.
From the airport, the body passed through One Commando Barracks, for a brief ceremony, before proceeding to the Mugabe’s private residence, Blue Roof.
“Thereafter, the full programme will be announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs. As we mourn our hero, I would encourage all Zimbabweans to be peaceful as we are people, one nation,” President Mnangagwa said.
Online Reporter