Few people for racially segregated Queen Elizabeth...

Few people for racially segregated Queen Elizabeth II memorial service in Harare

Very few people attended the Anglican Bishop of Harare presided memorial service for the late British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.

In an ironic display of the racism that the colonial period stood for, segregation seemed the order of the day as Blacks mostly sat on one side of the aisle, with Whites forming their own enclave at the opposite end.

Zim Now was unable to establish if the low numbers were a result of organisers inviting just a few people and if the sitting arrangement was planned.

The service was held at the Anglican Cathedral of St Mary’s And All Saints in the capital city of Zimbabwe.

"We think of you and we would like to reassure you of our prayers for the royal family, the new king, King Charles III and the people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and the Commonwealth upon the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” Bishop of Harare Farai Mutamiri said.

British Ambassador to Zimbabwe Melanie Robinson also addressed the sparsely populated room.

'We have come together in this beautiful cathedral to give thanks for the life of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. It is a fitting place for us to do so, in the sanctuary of the faith she held dear,” Robinson said.

Queen Elizabeth II’s death has elicited polarising opinions with most ordinary Africans using the opportunity to demand reparations for colonialism.

President ED Mnangagwa is sending Foreign Affairs minister Fredrick Shava to represent him at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral on Monday.

The Anglican Church has a long history in Zimbabwe with the Mashonaland Diocese being established in 1891. In 2000, the church had 674 with 320,000 people associated with it.

It went through turbulent times when former Bishop of Harare Nolbert Kunonga split from the church in Central Africa in 2007 and took control of the church’s assets. The church eventually won back control after the courts ruled that Kunonga had left the institution and therefore had no claim to ownership.