Late Robert Mugabe will be buried at a hilltop monument reserved exclusively for Zimbabwe’s national heroes, as the nation began several days of official mourning.

The former leader, Robert Mugabe died on Friday in Singapore at the age of 95.

He will be laid to rest in Harare at the National Heroes Acre, set aside for Zimbabweans deemed to have made significant sacrifices for the nation, as at the end of colonial Rhodesia.

According to the Deputy Minister of Information, Energy Mutodi, “Comrade Mugabe will be buried at the Heroes Acre,” the deputy information minister. That is where he deserves to rest.”

The plot, which is located on a hilltop, and built with the help of North Korean architects, features a huge bronze statue of three guerrilla fighters.

The date of the funeral and other details, including when Mugabe’s body will be flown into Zimbabwe, are not yet finalised.

Mugabe is viewed by many as a national hero, despite decades of rule that left the country in ruins. He was an ex-guerrilla chief who took power in 1980 when Zimbabwe shook off white minority rule and ruled for decades while economic turmoil and human rights violations eroded its early promise.