President Cyril Ramaphosa was met with a hostile reception from the crowd at former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe's state funeral in Harare at the weekend.

Ramaphosa was booed by mourners who were gathered at the National Sports Stadium when he took to the podium to deliver his speech. 

The funeral was attended by several heads of state.

In the video that has been doing rounds on social media, a wave of jeers, boos and whistles interrupted Ramaphosa's speech as he started his eulogy for Mugabe, who died aged 95.

Shortly after the boos died down, Ramaphosa apologised for recent xenophobic violence in South Africa, and the crowd erupted in cheers.

In his address, he acknowledged the concerns of Zimbabwean nationals and other African diaspora communities in South Africa, and assured mourners that South Africans were not xenophobic. He said the country was making efforts to deal with the causes of the violence.

He also said South Africa was committed to the spirit of Mugabe, which was a spirit of uniting Africa.