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glimpse of a two-kilometre funeral cotege of national hero, Cde Edgar Tekere, as it made its way from a private funeral parlour to his Bordervale home.
The national hero’s body is expected in Harare this afternoon where it will lie in state at One Commando Barracks before burial at the National Heroes Acre tomorrow.
A church service led by Reverend Waziweyi of the Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa was conducted last night.
Zanu-PF provincial secretary for administration Cde Kenneth Saruchera said all was in place for Cde Tekere’s burial.
“We now have a tentative programme, although some final touches will be put in place as we go. From what we have agreed, Cde Tekere’s body will be taken to Moffat (Moses Mvenge) Hall around 9am where Mutare residents will have a chance to bid their hero farewell.
“Although we had opted for Sakubva Stadium, we felt Moffat Hall was ideal. The body will be airlifted to Harare at around 1pm and the Ministry of Home Affairs is in charge of that,” said Cde Saruchera.
He said they had arranged 10 buses to ferry mourners from Mutare to Harare early tomorrow morning.
Four of the buses will carry members of the Tekere family while six others will transport other mourners.
“We want to give Cde Tekere a hero’s send-off and we are also encouraging other residents with transport to come on board and assist. We expect all mourners to be in Harare at least by 8:30am on Sunday so that they will join other mourners from all corners of Zimbabwe to bury Cde Tekere,” said Cde Saruchera.
Home Affairs Secretary Mr Melusi Matshiya yesterday said Government would take over the programme in the afternoon after which the body will be flown to Harare.

Tomorrow, the programme starts at 7am when the body leaves One Commando Barracks for Stodart Hall.
It will be taken to the National Heroes Acre at 10am.
Mr Matshiya said Government departments tasked with working out logistics had already met and everything was in place.
Vice President Joice Mujuru, who is currently out of town on official business, yesterday joined the nation in mourning Cde Tekere.
Cde Mujuru said she learnt with great shock and a deep sense of loss of the death of the former Zanu-PF secretary-general.
VP Mujuru was one of the guerillas sent by the party to receive Cde Tekere and President Mugabe at Villa Perri in Mozambique after the two had crossed over to lead the armed struggle in Mozambique.
VP Mujuru said from their first meeting at Villa Perri, “it was apparent that Cde Tekere was a dedicated politician who would leave no stone unturned to ensure the total liberation of Zimbabwe.”
She said Cde Tekere was a source of inspiration to many freedom fighters. He was a decisive leader who always spoke his mind out, she said.
VP Mujuru described him as “a fire-brand leader who despite persecution in the form of arrests, detention and imprisonment, remained committed to the goals and aspirations of the struggle.”
She urged the family to take solace in the fact that, “what Cde Tekere and like-minded cadres fought for was not in vain as Zimbabweans are now masters of their own destiny in an independent Zimbabwe.”
She expressed hope that with time, God would heal the wound and urged the family to remain committed to the ideals that Cde Tekere dedicated his life to.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe also mourned Cde Tekere.
CCJPZ said: “Cde Tekere was a distinguished freedom fighter and thus a true national hero.
“He was fearless, approachable and a charismatic leader. He always spoke his mind out especially on matters of good governance, corruption and the promotion of civil liberties.
“He leaves us with a rich legacy of being your own man or woman on issues that promote the common good.”
Cde Tekere was a founder member of the National Democratic Party and joined Zapu in 1961 after the NDP was banned.Cde Tekere was instrumental in forming Zanu in 1963.
In 1964, he was arrested for his political activities and spent 10 years at Wha Wha Prison together with President Mugabe and other nationalist leaders.
Upon their release in 1975, they crossed to Mozambique with the assistance of the late national hero Chief Rekayi Tangwena.
By 1977, Cde Tekere had risen to the post of secretary-general.
He attended the Lancaster House Conference and at independence in 1980 he was appointed Minister of Manpower Planning and Development.
Cde Tekere, however, always courted controversy and was tried at the High Court in 1980 on allegations of killing a white farm manager Gerald Adams but was acquitted after the assessors overruled the judge saying he was acting in the interests of State security.
He was then relieved of his duties as a minister after making a series of comments against Government policies in 1981, but retained his post of Zanu-PF secretary-general.
He was later to serve as Zanu-PF’s Manicaland provincial chairman until 1987.
Cde Tekere was expelled from Zanu-PF in 1988 and later formed the Zimbabwe Unity Movement.He stood against President Mugabe in the 1990 Presidential elections, but lost.
In 2005 he indicated his desire to contest the Senate elections on a Zanu-PF ticket before he was readmitted into Zanu-PF in 2006.