Staff Writer
Despite his last wish and plea to party members and relatives for a decent burial, notorious Zanu PF activist Norman Mawungwa who committed suicide on Monday morning by hanging himself from a tree was buried like a ‘rat’.
Mawungwa who acknowledged to relatives and party colleagues in a recorded suicide audio that he did not have a funeral policy pleaded for a decent burial. He also specified his last resting place at a hill in the area but family elders including Chief Mawungwa ignored the wish and buried him at his homestead instead.
Chief Mawungwa barred mourners from singing, praying or speechifying at the funeral. He also ordered that the deceased be buried with his full wardrobe including FAZ and Zanu PF regalia. All his clothes were thrown into the grave. Family members resolved not to take any souvenir from the deceased.
The funeral on Tuesday was exactly the opposite of what Norman had yearned for.
Mourners were served sadza with a relish of cabbages and rape contributed by women from the community. Zanu PF which was expected to take over funeral costs could not afford a beast to slaughter. There was not a gram of meat at the funeral.
Contrary to his last wish for memorable last respects Mawungwa was laid to rest in a coffin priced at US$90 despite claims by a FAZ member Mugove Mubaiwa that Zanu PF donated US$1 000 towards the funeral.
Pupurai Togarepi, the Zanu PF MP for whom Mawungwa toiled for during election campaigns and the reason he made so many enemies did not turn up or deliver an official condolence message. There was no Zanu PF official at the funeral of the man who is accused of killing and maiming people for the sake of the party.
“It’s either the US$1 000 was stolen within Zanu PF ranks or people were lied to that there was a donation otherwise how does one explain such a pauper burial where mourners could not even get a decent meal?” asked a neighbouring Chief who preferred anonymity.
Mawungwa’s body was not allowed in the homestead after being removed from the tree where he hang. It was dumped and spent day and night in a field covered with tree branches and only collected in the morning and taken straight to the grave for burial.
Women at the funeral refused to give undertakers their wrap-overs (mazambia) to be used to lower the coffin into the grave. As a result undertakers were forced to drop the coffin 1,8m down and it hit the bottom of the grave with a thud.
The grave was hastily covered with sand and mourners left immediately afterwards.
“We will not allow any of our clothes to be used on this man’s coffin. His evil spirits will follow us. Neither will any relative take any souvenir of his. He had demons and they will stick with you,” said the women.
“You know how he died. His spirit is not clean. There will be no singing, speechifying or praying. We just bury him, eat food prepared for us and leave,” said Chief Mawungwa.
A war veteran and close confidante of Mawungwa identified as Mudukuti complained against people celebrating Mawungwa’s death. He said people in the area and in particular at Mawungwa Business Center received the news of the death with great joy.
“Why do you hate him so much? What did he do to you? I saw people at Mawungwa Business Centre in great joy after the death of Mawungwa,” said Mudukuti.
Mubaiwa, a FAZ youth and enthusiast complained to Chief Mawungwa against the dumping of the deceased’s clothes into the grave and threatened the Mawungwa family with unspecified action for disrespecting their party cadre.
An angry Chief Mawungwa responded and told Mubaiwa that Mawungwa was given the burial that he deserved by the family and declared that nothing will change.
A local teacher tortured by Mawungwa in 2008 who declined to be named said the deceased was buried like a pauper.
“I came all the way from Mpandawana just to see for myself that this evil man is gone. God is there, the man has been buried like a rat. They buried him like they were burying a rat,” said the teacher.