Brig-Gen Tanyanyiwa laid to rest, as it happened

1352: With the singing of the National Anthem, the proceedings at the National Heroes Acre have come to an end.

1343: The laying of wreaths has been completed and the police band continues to entertain the crowd.

1328: President Mugabe hands over the National flag to the late Brig-Gen Tanyanyiwa's wife at the grave side.

1316: The body of Brig-Gen Tanyanyiwa is about to be laid to rest.

1304: ZAOGA Praise and Worship team is currently singing at the Heroes Acre as preparations for the burial of Tanyanyiwa happen.

1256: "Thank you for a job well done, a life well lived, you played your part Son of the Soil. You did not disappoint us, you did not disappoint your family and you did not disappoint those who went before you…..Go well our hero, travel well. I want to thank you all who have come and those who have been singing, we thank you for your role, thank you," said President Mugabe as he ended his speech.

1252: "We will invite our friends provided they come to assist not be masters over us," said President Mugabe

1246: "Let us not betray him and others who lie here. We should forever remain vigilant because the enemy will come in many guises," He said.

1243: President Mugabe urges the people that they should not sacrifice principles at the altar of expediency in the words of Kwame Nkrumah.

1241: He said the imposing National Defence College bears testimony to Tanyanyiwa's diplomatic skills.

1239: "His posting to the East coincided with the West's imposition of sanctions," He said.

1238: President Mugabe says Brig-Gen Tanyanyiwa's being assigned to China was not fortuitous but a deliberate as it was in recognition of his strong liberation credentials. There was need for someone who could be respected there as well.

1233: "He left an indelible footprint in the Special Forces, Commando Battalion which he transformed it from an elitist white dominated unit into the black dominated unit it is today," He said.

1225: He says the death of Brig-Gen Tanyanyiwa is not only a loss to the family but the country as well.

1223: President Mugabe said makes fun of foreign white reporters who do not understand Shona and says he will now give them something to write about by speaking in English.

1221: "If Tsvangirai and his party wanted to give them the country's resources they can go ahead and do that if they have a country of their own," President Mugabe said.

1220: "Today where do you stand? Are saying Zimbabwe is for the people, the country's resources belong them. Do you agree with that? Or you feel the whites should also get a share? If you had not voted resoundingly that would have happened. The British and Americans were waiting for that," He said.

1214: "The illness that claimed his life was unexpected. The forests trudged, rivers crossed and mountains climbed were dangerous. Mosquitos, Tsetse fly are abundant in Mozambique. Hunger and sickness were part of the struggle for freedom," He said.

1207: He mocks the late Ian Smith saying during the liberation war, Smith had said there would never be black rule in his lifetime but he ended up seeing that happen during his lifetime.

1159: The President describes the challenges that were faced by the freedom fighters like Brig-Gen Tanyanyiwa during the struggle for independence.

1155: He said very few were dedicated to the fight for freedom. Very few were ready to die for Zimbabwe let alone struggle for it.

"It is not something that anyone can do it but amongst us there were some who could not live with being oppressed"

1151: President Mugabe is now on the podium.

1150: Minister of Home Affairs, Kembo Mohadi is now addressing the crowd. He described Brig-Gen Tanyanyiwa as a revolutionary. He has invited President Mugabe to address the gathering.

1145: The Roman Catholic Choir is now singing "Tionane Mwari Achida" meaning we shall see one another if God decides so.

1141: Donald Tanyanyiwa, brother to the late, is now addressing the crowd at the National Heroes Acre. He paid tribute to Brig-Gen Tanyanyiwa's wife as a resolute individual who kept the family together.

1126: Hundreds of people thronged Stodart Hall in Mbare this morning to bid him farewell. President Mugabe and Mugabe first viewed the body followed Vice President Mujuru, ministers, politburo members, service chiefs, friends and relatives.
Tanyanyiwa is survived by his wife Mariah and three children-Florence, Rumbidzai, Abednico and two grandchildren.

1123: Brig-Gen Tanyanyiwa, whose Chimurenga name was Nemi Tichapedzerana, was responsible for mentoring younger ex-combatants who were drafted into the national army soon after Independence.

1115: The body of Brig-Gen Tanyanyiwa has arrived at the National Heroes Acre.

1100: President Mugabe and First Lady Grace Mugabe have arrived.

1109: Scores of Zimbabweans have converged on the National Heroes' Acre for the burial of Zimbabwe's defence attaché to China, Brigadier-General Misheck Tanyanyiwa, who has been described as a loyal and dedicated military leader.