The ongoing saga surrounding the exhumation of former President Robert Mugabe’s remains took a dramatic turn last week at the Chinyoyi magistrate court.
Village headman Tinos Manongovere’s request for an inspection of the late president’s grave at his Zvimba homestead was blocked, creating further uncertainty in this already complex case.
The confusion stemmed from Manongovere’s application for an “inspection in loco,” a legal process allowing the court to physically examine a location relevant to a case. His lawyers, Madzingiria and Nhokwara, clearly stated their intention in a letter to the Chinhoyi clerk of court dated November 19th.
“We write to advise that we have been instructed to make an application for inspection in loco of the burial place of the late former president of the Republic of Zimbabwe, His Excellency Robert Gabriel Mugabe at Kutama Village,” the letter read.
“Should the honourable court grant our application, we wish to have the inspection in loco on the December 2, 2024 or any other date convenient to the court. May you make the necessary arrangement for logistics including transport and personnel for both the burial site visit inside the house and the usual family gravesite visit both situated at different sites at Kutama Village.”
However, Magistrate Kudzanai Mahaso clarified the scope of the inspection, stating it would be limited to the National Heroes Acre mausoleum – where Mugabe was initially intended to be buried – and the Zvimba family cemetery. This clarification followed earlier confusion about the intended location of the inspection.
“We seem to be going in circles, I think we agreed to go and inspect the place where former president Mugabe was to be buried at the Heroes Acre and the Zvimba family cemetery,” Magistrate Mahaso explained, highlighting the discrepancy between the lawyers’ request and the court’s understanding.
The former First Lady, Grace Mugabe’s lawyer, Kudzanai Gombiro, voiced objections to the inspection of Mugabe’s grave itself. This opposition adds another layer of complexity to the already contentious legal battle.
The case’s history is deeply rooted in a traditional court ruling. Manongovere had initially taken Grace Mugabe to Chief Zvimba’s traditional court, arguing that Mugabe’s burial at his Kutama homestead violated traditional practices. Chief Zvimba subsequently ordered the exhumation and reburial at the National Heroes Acre, a ruling later upheld by a magistrate court in September 2021, despite objections from Mugabe’s children who argued the chief acted beyond his jurisdiction. Grace Mugabe was fined five cows and two goats for the transgression.
The dispute over Mugabe’s final resting place began almost immediately after his death in Singapore in September 2019 at the age of 95. A nearly three-week stand-off ensued between the government, which strongly favoured burial at the National Heroes Acre, and the Mugabe family, who ultimately prevailed in having him interred at his homestead. The government had even constructed a mausoleum at the Heroes Acre in anticipation of his burial there.
The initial ruling granting the inspection in loco, reported last week, stated that the inspection would take place at both the Zvimba cemetery and the Heroes Acre.
This was confirmed by Grace Mugabe’s lawyer, Kudzanai Gombiro: “Yes, Manongovere requested to show the court places where Mugabe family members are buried in Zvimba and a place they wanted him buried at Heroes Acre and the request was granted by the magistrate. We are going to the two places tomorrow,” he said.
However, the court’s subsequent clarification significantly alters the scope of the inspection, limiting it to the sites where Mugabe was intended to be buried, not where he actually rests. This leaves the central question of the exhumation itself unresolved, with the case scheduled to resume on Tuesday. The legal battle continues, leaving the final resting place of Zimbabwe’s former president shrouded in ongoing uncertainty.
