MODELLING guru and former Miss Zimbabwe chairperson, Kiki Divaris, who died Saturday morning has been declared a Liberation Heroine and will be given a state assisted funeral.
The late Vassiliki Babaletakis Divaris (Kiki) passed on at Borrowdale Clinic Trauma Centre in Harare where she was admitted few days ago for pneumonia.
Zanu PF secretary for administration and Home Affairs Minister, Ignatius Chombo, confirmed her liberation heroine honour by the ruling party.
“President Mugabe has conferred a state assisted funeral to the late Liberation Heroine Cde Kiki Divaris who died on the 5th of December at Borrowdale Trauma Centre Clinic,” wrote Chombo.
“I shall be most grateful if you would make the usual arrangement for her burial. She is from Harare province,” said Chombo.
A charity worker, philanthropist and a fashion designer, Divaris was well known for her unwavering support for the Miss Zimbabwe pageant since its inception and remained patron of the organization to the time of her death.
Kiki was once the president of Greek Hellenics Ladies Association and chairperson of the Child Survival and Development Foundation, the latter a brainchild of the late First Lady Sally Mugabe.
Spokesperson for Modelling Industry Association of Zimbabwe, Wilbert Rukako, also paid his condolences to the late Kiki, saying her passing has left an irreplaceable void in the modelling industry.
“She died before we even grasped her vision,” he said.
Founder of Zim Gossip Models Agency and former model, Mercy Mushaninga, said the country’s successful modelling story was down Kiki.
“She was a mother to a lot of models; she is our heroine and I learnt a lot from her.”
Kiki is survived by two children, Sotirios and Dimitris, two grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Burial arrangements are yet to be finalised but she will likely to be buried at Pioneer Cemetery in Mbare where he late husband is buried.
Mourners are gathered at number 68 Churchill Avenue, Alexandra Park in Harare.
