This archive report was first published on 1 October 2019.
Former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's family has revealed that he feared his body would be used for ritualistic purposes after his death, prompting him to ask his wife to guard his remains.
According to family spokesman Leo Mugabe, the former president's nephew, Mugabe had expressed concerns that his body would be targeted by his opponents for ritualistic purposes.
"We wanted a tamper-proof casket because of (the fear of) rituals," Leo told the Zimbabwe Television Network, adding that Mugabe had instructed his wife to guard his body once he died.
"People are after his body or his body parts," Leo further noted.
Mugabe died on September 6th, 2019, at the age of 95, in a Singapore hospital. He was buried on Saturday in a concrete cast grave in the courtyard of his rural Kutama home.
Inside the grave, the casket was placed in a container and then covered with a maroon lid before heavy rectangular stone blocks matching the shape of the grave were piled on top of the coffin.
The burial came 22 days after Mugabe's death, ending weeks of a battle between his family, local traditional chiefs, and the government over his burial site.
