Uhuru Kenyatta attended the funeral of late Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe to pay his last respects. The Kenyan president eulogised the deceased ex-commander in chief as an icon of Africa’s liberation struggle.
Uhuru said of the late leader in his speech,
The late comrade Mugabe was an embodiment of the pan-African spirit, offering immeasurable assistance and solidarity to many other African countries in their struggles to end colonial rule and apartheid.
Other presidents in attendance were South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa and his Equatorial Guinea counterpart Theodore Obiang Nguema, besides the host president Emerson Mnangagwa. Former presidents Sam Nujoma of Namibia and Jerry Rawlings from Ghana also graced the funeral service of their departed colleague.
Zimbabwe’s current president Mnangagwa, once Mugabe’s close confidant, described his late predecessor as a revolutionary leader, patriot and a nationalist who believed in Pan-Africanism.
A suite costs Sh.571,385 a night! Pictures of cosy hospital where Mugabe died
Far from the colourful speeches from African leaders, it was impossible to ignore the embarrassingly low turnout of citizens at the Zimbabwe National Sports Stadium where the funeral service was held.
Mugabe was the president of Zimbabwe for 37 years from 1980 to 2017 when he was ousted following a military coup. He died on Friday, September 6, aged 95 after a long illness. He passed on in Singapore where he had been receiving treatment since April 2019.
The family of the late president say that he will be buried in the National Heroes Acre monument in Harare, his family says, following a row with the government over his final resting site.
On Wednesday last week, Babu sought intervention from House Speaker Justin Muturi after receiving reports that Flying Squad officers were eagerly waiting for him outside the precincts of Parliament Buildings.
