Pomp, thin crowds and mixed feelings as Robert Mugabe is buried

The bands played but the funeral of Zimbabwe's ex-president was a strange affair in a divided nation

At just before 11.30am, the thousands of mourners in the vast bowl of Zimbabwe's national stadium stood and the casket carrying the mortal remains of Robert Gabriel Mugabe began its short journey across the green grass to the podium where it would lie during the long, hot hours of the funeral.

A military brass band led the procession. Then came the bereaved family and Mugabe's successor, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, followed by foreign dignitaries, before a small crowd of ministers and officials from the ruling Zanu-PF party.