ALTHOUGH the end of the year is still two months away,
definitely the story of the year in Zimbabwe barring any major incidents was
the death of the country’s founding leader, former President Robert Mugabe.
His death brought sorrow to the nation but from the day he
passed on until his burial there were a lot of stories, some true, others
speculations of course, all surrounding his burial.
The most intriguing was the keeping of his body at his
Borrowdale’s Blue Roof mansion when the norm is that a corpse should be kept in
a mortuary while awaiting burial.
In addition, former President Mugabe’s burial was full of
twist and turns, at a time when the Government had agreed with the family and
was in the process of building a mausoleum at the National Heroes Acre, then
suddenly the family made a u-turn and demanded that he be interred at his rural
home in Zvimba, Mashonalaland West Province.
While all this drama was unfolding, former First Lady Grace
Mugabe was the figure who was always seen next to the coffin of her husband.
However, there was actually another woman who was also
always close to the coffin. This woman was there from the day the body arrived
in Zimbabwe from Singapore.
This woman also made sure she was in the thick of things,
until the day when the former President was interred.
In fact, this woman is the one who lowered the former
President’s coffin into the grave.
Her name is Mrs Margaret Nyakudya (50), a funeral assistant
with Doves Funeral Services in Harare.
She was the person tasked to preside over the funeral of
the former President and even drove the hearse.
Sunday News Senior Reporter Robin Muchetu (RM) caught up
with Mrs Nyakudya and she shared moments that stood out for her during the
high-profile funeral. Read below to get an account of one of Mrs Nyakudya’s
greatest moments in her career as an undertaker at Doves. Mind you, she is also
the same woman who buried the former Prime Minister and leader of the country’s
main opposition party MDC, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai last year. Below are excerpts
of the interview:
RM. How were you chosen to go and assist at the funeral of
the late former President and how was the feeling like?
MN. When there are State funerals the bosses meet and
decide who should preside over the funeral and that is how I was chosen to go
and bury the former President. At first, I was shocked and scared too that I
was chosen among a number of men whom we work with, but I was also happy at the
same time that I had been singled out, an indication that there was something
good and positive in my line of duty.
RM. How did you feel as you were taking care of business in
the Mugabe home for those days?
MN. I felt that as I was assigned to the Blue Roof, I stood
there representing women, I was their beacon for the period I was there,
handling the funeral as women are usually shunned and stereotyped in society
but that period showed that women can handle any task assigned. While I was at
the Mugabe funeral, I received many pats on the back from mourners and family
members who felt I was doing a good job and that made me proud of myself. I
would go every single day to the Blue Roof and assist the family with whatever
they needed until the final day we went to Zvimba. My female workmates were
also overly impressed as they said I also represented them. My relatives and
even strangers would call me and applaud me to the extent that others formed a WhatsApp
group where they were showering me with praises for being the one who buried
Cde Mugabe.
I then later saw videos and pictures of me during the
burial that were all over social media and I was proud to say the least. My
children would also send them to me while I was at the funeral. This job of
ours is mostly dominated by men so I proved that women can do it too and lead
the pack.
RM. Was this the first State funeral you have presided over
and how did you feel being at the Blue Roof?
MN: Another highlight in my career as an undertaker is that
I was the one who buried the former MDC president, Morgan Tsvangirai when he
died in February last year. I drove to Buhera to bury him. The experience of
just being at the Blue Roof was a great one for me, seeing the mansion and just
seeing the place where the former President spent his time with his family. I
was impressed.
On the day we left for Zvimba I was actually unaware, I
went to work as usual assuming that we would routinely go and spend the day at
the Blue Roof but I was informed that we were to leave that morning.
As a person who is now seasoned in the job and know the
nature of the job, I had some extra uniforms that I kept at work for
emergencies. So, I made sure my hearse was cleaned, fuelled and ready for the
road.
RM: How was the trip to Zvimba and what were your thoughts
during that time?
MN: The day we went to Zvimba was the defining moment as I
was scared for the worst. I drove the hearse from the Blue Roof at an amazing
speed as we were in a convoy so the speed that the security people and those
who were part of the motorcade were cruising at was breathtaking. At the back
of your mind you will be scared of making a mistake when travelling at such
speed. In my mind I kept thinking what if I developed a tyre puncture and we
have to stop, I did not want to draw that kind of attention on that day because
I was carrying an important person and worse still the whole world was watching
so I did not want to give room to any mistake.
I asked God to intervene and ensure that it was a smooth
journey because all eyes were on me and who I was carrying and I’m glad it was
orderly although that one-hour drive to Zvimba felt like forever as I was a
nervous wreck. But it all went well until we reached Zvimba.
RM: There were some rumours from the public that the coffin
of the former President was empty. How far true is that?
MN: Many people on the streets were saying we buried an
empty coffin, that is a big lie; I was there until the last moment when the
coffin was lowered into the grave. What they do not know is that we actually
check if the corpse is still in the correct position regularly and I saw his
body with my own eyes.
About the coffins, some said they were changed four times,
that is not true, I only saw two, the one he came in from Singapore and the
copper casket we were given to finally lay him in. Again, the casket had no
computer inside like what the public was saying, they had just developed wild
thoughts of how the casket of a man of Cde Mugabe’s stature would be like.
RM: How was the reception from the former First Family?
MN: The Mugabe family was very open and pleasant to work
with, no one was hostile to me and I enjoyed working with them despite the fact
that they were in deep mourning.
RM. Thank you for sharing these moments with us.
MN. It’s my pleasure.
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