The Zimbabwean government has announced that the funeral former president Robert Mugabe will be held on Saturday, in the capital Harare.
Mugabe died in a hospital in Singapore on Friday at the age of 95.
The government announced in a statement that the State funeral will be held at the National Stadium, and has advised Heads of State intending to attend the funeral to arrive on Friday.
A full programme is yet to be released.
It is expected that Mugabe’s remains will arrive in Zimbabwe on Wednesday, and that he will be buried on Sunday.
Mugabe dominated Zimbabwean politics for almost four decades from independence in 1980 until he was removed by his own army in a November 2017 coup.
Revered by many as a liberator who freed his people from white minority rule, Mugabe was vilified by others for wrecking one of Africa’s most promising economies and ruthlessly crushing his opponents.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who worked closely with Mugabe for decades before helping to oust him, granted Mugabe the status of national hero within hours of his death.
The Zimbabwe Independent newspaper reported last month that Mugabe didn’t want to be buried at National Heroes Acre – a site reserved for the country’s heroes – because he felt bitter about the way he was removed from power.
Additional reporting: Reuters
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