Bona Mugabe’s 18-hour wedding

By Fungi Kwaramba

HARARE – The wedding of President Robert Mugabe’s daughter, Bona, is going to take a breathtaking 18 hours, with security and logistical hurdles likely to throw a damper on the nuptials.

Guests are expected to be seated by 12 noon tomorrow with the wedding expected to end on Sunday at 6am.

It will be held at Mugabe’s plush Borrowdale home, which is popularly known as Blue Roof in the Borrowdale Brooke neighbourhood because of the massive house’s blue roof.

While Mugabe’s daughter Bona is set to walk down the aisle and tie the knot with Simba Chikore, a pilot with Qatar Airways, it will not be smooth sailing for those lucky to have been invited.

For instance, guests should arrive at Heritage Primary School to park their vehicles and then proceed, probably by shuttle, to the blue roofed residence of the First Family and be seated by 12pm.

Shuttle buses will carry guests from the school to the plush residence.

Heritage Primary School, which lies diagonally opposite Mugabe’s residence, is perched near a creek and motorists who will not be keen on the shuttle buses will have negotiate passage, on foot.

Reports indicate that a new foot bridge has been constructed for guests including foreign dignitaries, who might decided to walk rather than use a bus for the distance of more than five kilometres.

The foot bridge, which is close to the famous Borrowdale Brooke Golf Course is new to the geography of the area.

Vehicles are not allowed at the premises.

Security will be very tight.  No kids are allowed at the wedding. For ladies in heels, this will be punishing given the many hours they will spend in the residence and in view of the fact that because of huge security requirements, it will not be easy to leave the premises.

The wedding ceremony will start at 2pm sharp.

Gatecrashers will not worm their way into the wedding as only those holding the bar-coded invitation cards will be allowed into the opulent residence of the country’s president. Invited guests were given bar codes which they activate through mobile phones that invitation cards will not be necessary.

Cameras, Ipads and smart phones which take pictures are banned from the much-awaited event, which competes favourably with weddings of billionaires.

And photojournalists will only be allowed in for 10 minutes to snap their shots and leave.

Event organisers have been busy preparing for the big, fat wedding.

Mugabe recently said the wedding preparations have been taxing everybody in the First Family.

Incessant rains might have damaged the country’s roads but do not expect potholes on streets that lead to Mugabe’s home.

A new layer of tar has been topped up, with construction workers labouring around the clock to ensure that the 90 year-old and his wife Grace give the first daughter a befitting send-off.

Workers from a local events management company, have been working 24 hours a day this week pitching up tents. Daily News