(Dumiso Dabengwa & Emmerson Mnangagwa)
President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa is widely believed to have been born in 1942, meaning he turned 82 this year.
Apparently, his real age is controversial as some think he is faking his age in order to be considered younger.
In the year 2000 pictures of Mnangagwa show him with grey hair, but in his current photos he has black hair.
In football circles they call it age cheating, an offense when someone downplays their age in order to be considered younger than they actually are.
Exiled former cabinet minister Jonathan Moyo writing in 2021 questioned Mnangagwa’s real age.
Moyo said Mnangagwa used to share birth anniversaries with the likes of the late army commander Josiah Mahama Tongogara and Jonathan Mandaza who were born in 1938.
As stated by Moyo, if Mnangagwa was born the same year as Tongogara, it means he is supposed to have turned 83 in 2021.
“HOW OLD IS EMMERSON MNANGAGWA? Some who were with him in Zambia, and were born in September 1938, say they used to have joint birthday parties with him.
“In the 1980s/ 90s, press reports said he was born in September 1942. Now he says he was born in 1946. Truth is he’s turning 83 next month!
“AS MEMBERS OF THE ZANU Branch in Lusaka in Zambia & although born on different dates in 1938, three persons used to hold an annual joint party to celebrate having been born in the same year, as boys of 1938, and these are Josiah Tongogara, Jonathan Mandaza and Emmerson Mnangagwa!” Moyo wrote on his microblog X handle.
In response one X user, Blessing Shadaya lambasted Moyo at the time, accusing him of campaigning for the late former president Robert Mugabe at the age of 93.
“While I can’t tell Mnangagwa and Mangwana apart I just wonder why his age is of concern to you.
“You were campaigning for a 93 year old presidential candidate! Whose health was clearly failing,” said Shadaya.
Moyo answered: “Cool. Show me just one V11 (piece of evidence) of me CAMPAIGNING for Mugabe at 93; just one and I will show you many V11s of Mnangagwa CAMPAIGNING for 93-year old Mugabe in 2017, including his silly response to my BlueOcean documentary, claiming to be Mugabe’s most loyal right hand man for 52 years!”
