HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — African hes of state joined thousands of Zimbabweans at a state funeral Saturday for Zimbabwe’s founding president, Robert Mugabe, whose burial has been delayed for at least a month until a special mausoleum can be built for his remains.

State funeral for Mugabe

More than 10 African leers and several former presidents attended service and viewing of body of Mugabe, who died last week in Singapore at 95, at National Sports Stium in capital, Harare. crowd filling about 30% of 60,000 capacity of Chinese-built stium. Most of those attending were supporters of Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF party.

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa drew boos from crowd, as a result of recent attacks in Johannesburg on foreigners, including Zimbabweans. An official pleed with stium crowd to let him speak. Ramaphosa apologized for attacks.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta described Mugabe as “a great icon of African liberation” and “a visionary leer and relentless champion of African dignity.”

anuncement Friday evening that that burial will be postponed until building of a new resting place at National Heroes’ Acre Monument is latest turn in a dramatic wrangle between Mugabe’s family and President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a once-trusted deputy who helped oust Mugabe from power.

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Mnangagwa presided over Saturday’s ceremony, attended by Mugabe’s widow Grace, who wore a black veil.

“A giant tree of Africa has fallen,” said Mnangagwa, who hailed Mugabe as “a bold, stefast revolutionary.”

He praised Mugabe for seizing land from white farmers. “To him, this was grievance of all grievances of our people,” Mnangagwa said. “ land has w been reunited with people and people have been reunited with land.” He also called on Western countries to remove sanctions imposed during Mugabe’s era.

Farewell, Gallant Son of Soil

“Go Well Our Revolutionary Icon” and “Farewell Gallant Son of Soil” were among banners praising Mugabe, who led bitter guerrilla war to end white-mirity rule in country n kwn as Rhodesia. Mugabe was Zimbabwe’s first leer and ruled country from 1980 for 37 years, from years of prosperity to ecomic ruin and repression.

He was deposed in 2017 by military and Mnangagwa in a bloodless coup that was marked by more than 100,000 people demonstrating in Harare’s streets to demand that he step down. Following Mugabe’s resignation, Mnangagwa took power and won elections next year on campaign promises he would improve collapsed ecomy and create jobs. But Zimbabwe’s ecomy has lurched from crunch to crisis and some in crowd expressed view that life was better under Mugabe’s rule.

“Bre was less than a dollar when we marched against him (Mugabe). It is w $9,” said Munashe Gudyanga, 18. “I am just here to say ‘Sorry, President Mugabe, we didn’t kw things will be worse.’”

Some in stium sang an impromptu farewell to Mugabe, “When you left bre was a dollar,” lyrics that implicitly criticized Mnangagwa, whose nearly two-year rule has been marked by rising prices, with inflation currently more than 175%.

visiting leers viewed Mugabe’s partially open casket, followed by a 21-gun salute, a flypast by Zimbabwean air force jets and release of 95 doves, to mark Mugabe’s 95 years.

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Mugabe’s body is to be viewed in his birthplace, Zvimba, on Sunday and n will be held in preservation until new mausoleum is rey.

In downtown Harare, many Zimbabweans were busy with ir weekend errands and expressed little interest in funeral, which was open to public.

“What will I get if I go re? What will Mugabe do for me w that he failed to do when he was alive?” said Amelia Tukande, who was selling cellphone chargers along Harare’s Samora Machel Avenue that les to stium. “It is a waste of time. I have to work for my family.”

Ors said y would have wanted to attend funeral but cant afford transport fares.

“I didn’t like him, but I still wanted to attend just to see for myself that he is gone ... but kombis (minivan taxis) want $3.50 just to get to stium,” said Amos Siduna, waiting in line at a bank to get cash, which is in short supply. “That’s too much money for me just to go and say ‘bye-bye’ to a corpse. Mugabe’s corpse. .”

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Mugabe's final resting place

mourning period for Mugabe’s death has been marked by ongoing drama over where, when and how ex-strongman will be buried. new resting place will be built near stium at Heroes’ Acre, a national burial site for top officials of Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF party who contributed to ending white colonial rule

mausoleum will be at an elevated site above or graves, according to Mnangagwa and a Mugabe family spokesman.

Grace h previously insisted on a private burial rar than state funeral and burial in a simple plot alongside or national heroes planned by government.

“We are building a mausoleum for our founding far at top of hill at Heroes’ Acre,” Mnangagwa said on state television Friday night, consenting to Mugabe family’s wishes.

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