Zimbabwe's founding leader Robert Mugabe has been buried in his home village of Kutama, ending a dispute between his family and the government over his final resting place.
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Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years from independence in 1980 but was a polarising figure.
He was idolised by some for his role in the country's liberation struggle and hated by others for ruining a promising nation through disastrous economic policies and repression against opponents.
He died in a Singapore hospital on September 6 aged 95, bitter at the way former allies including his successor President Emmerson Mnangagwa conspired to topple him in November 2017.
Mugabe told his family he did not want his "tormentors" to preside over his burial, family members said.
After mass by a Roman Catholic priest and speeches by family members, Mugabe was buried in the courtyard of his rural homestead without the pomp and fanfare usually reserved for national heroes.
His wife Grace, children and close relatives, government officials and the media witnessed the burial ceremony.
Family spokesman Walter Chidhakwa said the burial was where Mugabe had wished.
"We are only saying we thank Mr Mnangagwa for accepting to do our father's wishes. It may not be what you expected because you wanted him to go to (Heroes Acre) but what we have done is our father's wishes," he said.
ZANU-PF party spokesman Simon Khaya Moyo said in a statement that the decision to bury Mugabe in Kutama was most unfortunate, in a sign of the continued fallout between the ruling party and the family.
"We indeed respect the wishes of the families of deceased heroes, hence get saddened when manoeuvres that border on political gimmicks begin to unfold on an issue concerning an illustrious liberation icon," Khaya Moyo said.
Australian Associated Press
