Ex-Zaire Dictator Mobutu Laid to Rest in Morocco

RABAT, Morocco — Mobutu Sese Seko, shunned in death by the powers that once backed his despotic rule over Zaire, was laid to rest Saturday after a private Roman Catholic ceremony outside the Moroccan capital.

Nearly 100 uniformed and plainclothes police kept journalists and onlookers 500 yards from the cemetery as mourners arrived in private cars. Mobutu’s body was carried in a white ambulance.

Mobutu’s family held a wake for the exiled leader Friday at a villa Mobutu owned near Rabat, Archbishop Jean Micheau said.

Mobutu died a week ago after a long battle with prostate cancer. He had been living in exile in Morocco after being chased out of Zaire following a 32-year dictatorship. He was ousted in May by the forces of Laurent Kabila, who restored the country’s former name of Congo.