Mugabe's burial to be held in National Heroes Acre, says family spokesman

His family has agreed that Mugabe's burial be held in National Heroes Acre, a family spokesman has said.

Zimbabwe ex-president Robert Mugabe's family has agreed to burial in National Heroes Acre, a family spokesman said on Friday, according to AFP. The choice of Mugabe's burial place has sparked various controversies over the last few days as the family and the government appeared to be deadlocked over the matter.

After Mugabe's death in Singapore last week, his family and President Emmerson Mnangagwa appeared at odds over burying him at the National Heroes Acre in Harare or at a private ceremony likely in the family homestead of Kutama, northwest of the capital.

#BREAKING Mugabe's family agree to burial in national monument: family spokesman pic.twitter.com/nkRjOmOG7q

— AFP news agency (@AFP) September 13, 2019

In a statement, the family had accused Mnangagwa of trying to strongarm them into making Mugabe's burial public against his final wishes. Some family members are still bitter over Mugabe's ouster and the role played by Mnangagwa, a long-time ally from their days as guerrilla fighters who eventually turned against him.

Mugabe fired Mnangagwa as first vice president in 2017, a move many perceived as an attempt to position his wife Grace to succeed him after nearly four decades of iron-fisted rule. Soon after, Mugabe was toppled by protesters and the army in what was seen as part of a power struggle within the ruling ZANU-PF party between pro-Mnangagwa factions and Mugabe loyalists siding with his wife Grace.