Following nine days of mourning, Batswana on Saturday bid a final farewell to the country's third president, Festus Gontebanye Mogae with a state funeral held in Gaborone, Botswana's capital city. The burial ceremony that started at the University of Botswana Indoor Sports Arena and ended at Phomolong Memorial Park Cemetery combined military pomp with the Batalaote traditions of his childhood in Serowe, in the central Botswana. Across the country, people gathered Saturday morning in living rooms and at various customary courts to watch the live broadcast of Mogae's funeral ceremony, as citizens pay their last respects to the man who shaped Botswana's strong economy. Shingirai Madondo reports

<p>Following nine days of mourning, Batswana on Saturday bid a final farewell to the country's third president, Festus Gontebanye Mogae with a state funeral held in Gaborone, Botswana's capital city. The burial ceremony that started at the University of Botswana Indoor Sports Arena and ended at Phomolong Memorial Park Cemetery combined military pomp with the Batalaote traditions of his childhood in Serowe, in the central Botswana. Across the country, people gathered Saturday morning in living rooms and at various customary courts to watch the live broadcast of Mogae's funeral ceremony, as citizens pay their last respects to the man who shaped Botswana's strong economy. Shingirai Madondo reports</p>