Harare – A nephew of former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe has told mourners at his uncle’s memorial service in Harare that the former strongman was a “sad, sad, sad man” in the last days of his life.
“I spent lots of time with him towards the end of his life. He was a sad man, a sad, sad, sad man. He recalled quietly the journey he had walked, a profound journey, a hard and excruciating journey, and thus must he leave,” said Walter Chidhakwa, hugging himself, with tears in his eyes.
He made the address at Harare’s partially full National Sports Stadium on Saturday before scores of heads of state and other dignitaries.
Mugabe died in a Singapore hospital on Friday last week, where he had been receiving treatment. He was 95 years old.
Chidhakwa said that when Mugabe’s remains arrived in Zimbabwe, the crowds that gathered to welcome him were “of unprecedented proportions”.
