CLAIM: Mnangagwa will be 90 in 2028
SOURCE: Hopewell Chin’ono on X (formerly Twitter)
VERDICT: Inconclusive
On February 5, 2025, Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin’ono, posted a message on X (formerly Twitter) claiming that President Emmerson Mnangagwa would be 90 years old in 2028.
Chin’ono was reflecting on the events leading to the 2017 military removal of the late former president Robert Mugabe from office while drawing comparisons with the current ZANU-PF push for President Mnangagwa to remain in office beyond the expiry of his term of office in 2028.
‘Mnangagwa will be 90 in 2028,’ claimed Chin’ono.
‘Mugabe was 93 in 2017. Do the math! Zimbabweans should demand constitutionalism, which includes free and fair elections where the winner assumes office, rather than siding with a ZANU-PF faction in the hope of getting crumbs from the floor.’
State-controlled Herald newspaper reported on September 16, 2024, that President Mnangagwa turned 82 on September 15 of the same year, suggesting that he was born in 1942.
Colonialrelic.com, which documents biographies of Zimbabwe’s pre-independence nationalists, also indicates that President Mnangagwa was born at Shabani (modern-day Zvishavane) in September 1942. This is also supported by the African Development Bank, which states that President Mnangagwa was born on 15 September 1942 in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe. Moreover, Black Past, a website dedicated to providing reliable, and accurate information concerning the history of African Americans in the United States and people of African ancestry in other regions of the world, states as follows: ‘Zimbabwe’s current President, Emmerson Mnangagwa, was born on September 15, 1942, in Zvishavane, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). His parents were Mafidhi and Mhurai Mnangagwa.’
If President Mnangagwa was born on 15 September 1942, he would turn 83 this year and 86 in 2028, not 90 as claimed by Chin’ono.
Discrepancies in Mnangagwa’s age
The popular narrative is that President Mnangagwa was born on 15 September 1942. However, following his rise to the position of Vice President in 2014, the State-controlled Chronicle newspaper said he was born on 15 September 1946, making him four years younger than his widely publicized age.
In November 2017, when President Mnangagwa succeeded the late former president Robert Mugabe, the BBC also said there was some dispute over whether the former was 71 or 75. The media house further indicated Mnangagwa was said to have avoided being hanged when arrested during the fight for independence by lying about his age.
Further complicating things, in 2021 former Cabinet Minister, Professor Jonathan Moyo queried the President’s date of birth on X (formerly Twitter) and suggested that he was born in 1938 and therefore, four years older than his known age. ‘HOW OLD IS EMMERSON MNANGAGWA?, queried Moyo. ‘Some who were with him in Zambia, and were born in Sept 1938, say they used to have joint birthday parties with him. In the 1980s/90s, press reports said he was born in Sept 1942. Now he says he was born in 1946. Truth is he’s turning 83 next month!’
The United States of America’s sanctions list states the President’s year of birth as 1946, ‘34. Emmerson MNANGAGWA [Parliamentary Speaker, born 15 Sept. 1946]’
While these claims have been picked up by some media houses including Nehanda Radio, ZimDaily, NewsHawks,and others, they have not been proven to date.
Interestingly, the President’s biographer Eddie Cross suggests that Mnangagwa was born in 1946. He says the President survived the death penalty in 1965 because he was under 21, just over 18 years old to be specific. This is a story that the President himself has previously alluded to.
This would mean that he was born in 1946. If he was born in 1942, he would have been 23 in 1965.
Conclusion
The claim: ‘Mnangagwa will be 90 in 2028,’ is rated inconclusive in that it has not been proven. Most of the claims of him being born in 1938 stem from Jonathan Moyo’s social media post. All other records show that the President was born on 15 September either in 1942 or 1946, with the former being the official one. On the other hand, FactCheckZW did not come across evidence of the President himself publicly commenting on the discrepancies surrounding his date of birth and age. According to official records, therefore, President Mnangagwa who is turning 83 years old this year, will be 86 in 2028 and not 90 as claimed by Hopewell Chin’ono.
