Tendai Ruben Mbofana
Minister Anxious Masuka took to the stage yesterday at Pricabe Farm to celebrate the declaration of Zimbabwe’s newest public holiday.
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He delivered a line so absurd it would be laughable if it were not such a blatant insult to the intelligence of the nation.
Standing before assembled Cabinet ministers and traditional leaders, Masuka claimed that the proclamation of September 15 as Munhumutapa Day happened to align with President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s birthday by “mere coincidence.”
To hear a senior government minister look the public in the eye and pretend that President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s birthday just so happens to coincide with Munhumutapa Day—a public holiday he declared himself—is a masterclass in political gaslighting.
How can anyone say President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s birthday falls on Munhumutapa Day just by coincidence?
What utter nonsense is that?
Was it not Mnangagwa himself who issued Statutory Instrument 148 of 2026, using his executive powers to carve September 15 into the national calendar as a public holiday?
To claim a coincidence requires the pre-existence of a calendar mark outside one’s control.
A coincidence occurs when a child happens to be born on December 25, which happens to be Christmas Day.
Or when an anniversary lands on an established national event like Independence Day on April 18.
It is not a coincidence when you draw a bullseye around where your own dart landed and call yourself an archer.
Prior to this decree, what historical, astronomical, or cultural link existed between the ancient Munhumutapa Empire and the fifteenth day of September?
Absolutely none.
If the state is genuine about honouring the legacy of the Munhumutapa Empire, history provides ample legitimate dates to draw upon, even if they remain unrecognised by official statutes.
Portuguese records capture Munhumutapa Kapararidze’s massive revolution in August 1631.
They also record November 14, 1693, when Munhumutapa Nyakunembire and Changamire Dombo destroyed Dambarare and expelled foreign occupiers.
Why not select November 14, or any date tied to the documented archives of the empire, to crown as Munhumutapa Day?
Selecting September 15—a date with zero historical connection to the empire—confirms that this holiday was built around the President’s personal calendar rather than national history
If President Mnangagwa desires a national holiday to mark his personal journey on this earth, his administration should have the courage of its convictions and simply name September 15 “Mnangagwa Day.”
Instead, we witness a clumsy attempt to package this vanity project as a historic tribute.
The very desperation to frame this as a “coincidence” reveals a telling psychological truth: even the ruling elite are quietly embarrassed by this overt usurping of national history.
They know that hijacking an ancestral empire to glorify a sitting leader is indefensible, so they retreat into contorted logic to shield the presidency from the charge of naked egotism.
It exposes an administration acutely aware of its own lack of organic legacy.
This manufactured alignment is not born of strength, but of a deep-seated insecurity—a motivation likely driven by a president’s agonizing awareness of his own lack of personal achievement.
It is profoundly disingenuous to usurp the legacy of the Munhumutapa Empire—a civilization defined by its sophisticated statecraft, regional trade networks, and anti-colonial resistance.
Using it to bolster a presidency that has failed to uplift ordinary Zimbabweans is a mockery of that history.
In stark contrast, modern Zimbabwe struggles under the weight of an agonizing economic crisis, crumbling public infrastructure, runaway inflation, and widespread poverty.
Wrapping a failing contemporary administration in the royal robes of ancient kings does not fix a single hospital, nor does it put food on the tables of millions who go hungry.
A leader of true stature establishes his own legacy through transformation, vision, and the tangible improvement of his people’s lives.
The fact that President Mnangagwa feels compelled to clutch onto the heritage of long-departed monarchs shows a tragic lack of confidence in his own record.
He seems to recognise that history, if left to judge his era on its actual merits, will offer little to celebrate.
If the government genuinely wishes to honour the Munhumutapa Empire, it must cease this self-serving co-optation and accord our ancestors the unadulterated dignity they deserve.
History is a meticulous ledger, and no amount of engineered public holidays or absurd state-media narratives will ever transform personal vanity into regal authority.
Greatness cannot be claimed by executive order, nor can a lasting legacy be stolen from the dead.
- Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to contact him on +263715667700 or mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com