Close relatives and government officials flew out of Zimbabwe on Monday, to collect the body of ex-president Robert Mugabe from Singapore, where he died last week.

Mugabe who swept to power after Zimbabwe's independence from Britain, and went on to rule for 37 years until he was ousted in 2017, died on Friday aged 95.

Mugabe's health deteriorated after he was toppled by the military and former loyalists in November 2017, ending an increasingly tyrannical rule that sent the economy into ruin.

A nephew and a family spokesperson Leo Mugabe, said a charter flight left Harare on Monday with family and senior party members, and will return with Mugabe's body today in the afternoon.

Leo Mugabe said although he was devastated at his uncle's death, he believed he was "rested" after the coup in November 2017, when his former trusted lieutenants turned against him.