Robert Mugabe has been buried in his home village of Kutama, Zimbabwe, more than three weeks after his death.
Mr Mugabe died on 6 September in Singapore, at the age of 95.
He was forced to retire in 2017 after nearly four decades as Zimbabwe’s president.
A priest at his burial on Saturday told the crowd of about 200 people: “This man lives forever. This gathering is a paradox.
” We are mourning at the same time we are celebrating because this man lived his life in a manner that many of us would want to emulate. “
Later, standing by the flag-draped coffin, the priest prayed: “God, take pity on him. Don’t judge him harshly.”
Mr Mugabe styled himself as the “Grand Old Man” of African politics, and defenders say his government achieved improvements in health and education for the black majority.
But not all of Zimbabwe’s citizens will be as charitable.
To most, he was an authoritarian who mishandled the economy and used violence to suppress opposition after taking power in 1980.
There are still severe shortages of things such as food and medicine under current president Emmerson Mnangagwa, who helped oust Mr Mugabe from power and was not at the burial.
Also absent were many senior officials from the ruling ZANU-PF party, which had been led by Mr Mugabe.
(while) And while many mourners wore shirts emblazoned with the words “liberator” and “torch bearer”, very few wore party regalia .
Mr Mugabe had been set for burial at the National Heroes Acre shrine in the capital, Harare.
But Junior Shuvai Gumbochuma, sister of Mr Mugabe’s widow Grace, said the former president had wanted a private ceremony rather than one run by those who removed him from power.
She said: “Some may be surprised by this small crowd given this man’s greatness.
“I remember he presided over many burials of heroes that were attended by busloads of people. I thought one day such crowds would attend his own burial. What we did today was his wish.”
She added: “I asked him why he didn’t want to be buried at Heroes Acre and he responded: ‘I was ridiculed.'”
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