HARARE - President Robert Mugabe’s neighbours had a hell of a day yesterday being subjected to rigorous searches by gun-totting security details as First Daughter Bona, tied the knot to Simba Chikore at a splendorous ceremony attended by the crème de le crème.
While it was all pomp and fanfare at Mugabe’s plush Borrowdale home, it was a nightmare for his neighbours who had to deal with increased security in the neighbourhood after the 90-year-old leader opened his house to the public for the first time.
The Daily News on Sunday crew failed to make it past the roadblocks manned by soldiers armed
with assault rifles — who kept sentry
guarding the highly-fortified residence of the Mugabes.
Close to 4 000 people attended the wedding and it was a nightmarish experience for dwellers of the usually serene upmarket suburb as thousands of top-of-the-range vehicles caused huge congestion in the Helensvale and Borrowdale Brooke area.
There was no church service for the Seventh Day Adventist Church, which lies in the
vicinity of Mugabe’s home and even construction workers working in the area were nowhere in sight.
Usually, one passes Mugabe’s home fairly hustle-free but yesterday people had to disclose their residential addresses to security personnel to be allowed passage.
At the end it was, however, a fairy tale wedding as Simba a pilot and Bona an accountant tied the knot, revealing to the world that sometimes they spoke for six hours on the phone.
Bona, captivated the crowd, which included former heads of State like, ex-Ghana President Jerry John Rawlings, and Botswana’s former leader Sir Ketumile Masire, with a dazzling smile.
The interior deco was amazing — and the Mugabes could have spent a fortune, not that the First Family cannot afford extravagant spending.
They own farms including a thriving dairy and even the venue of the wedding is not your usual home.
In a sign of things to come for Simba, Mugabe arrived with an entourage that included heaving men in dark suits.
The 18-hour long programme was briefly televised on national broadcaster ZTV.