Mugabe Funeral: Family Says ZANU-PF Wanted To Portray Mugabe Who Had Lost Supporters
Close family sources to Zimbabwe’s former president, Robert Mugabe, have blamed the ruling ZANU PF for the low turn out at Mugabe’s funeral held at Murombedzi Growth Point.
Some close family sources who spoke to the News Day on anonymity claimed that the event attracted low numbers because ZANU PF did not disburse enough resources to mobilise mourners.
News Day reports that very few people from Mugabe’s rural Zvimba came to pay their last respects. The publication also notes that only five buses were at the venue, while top Zanu PF officials from the host province, Mashonaland West, were missing.
Speaking to the News Day, the anonymous source said:
In our view, this was deliberate so that they paint a picture of a Mugabe who had lost support in his own home town. This would kill any attempts to use his name to form a formidable political party that can stand against Zanu PF.
News Day further reports that a member of the Zanu PF youth league executive, who is also a loyalist to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, said that Mugabe’s death was a huge blow to the Generation 40 (G40) faction which is now a registered political party. The anonymous member said that Mugabe would also finance the faction whose members are mostly in exile.
Meanwhile, Justice Minister, Ziyambi Ziyambi defended the low turnout, saying that most people had already attended the funeral at the National Sports Stadium and Rufaro Stadium in Harare.
More: News Day
