HARARE – Late former President Robert Mugabe’s family members and close allies have held a “posthumous centenary” birthday celebration for the once fierce ruler in his rural home of Kutama, Mashonaland West.
The event, which was hardly known to the country’s media, was revealed by former journalist Jealousy Mawarire, who once stood as Mugabe’s media point man after the former leader was ousted as president in 2017.
“The man to my right, Mkoma Wonder, stood by Mdara RGM till the end. It was wonderful to catch up with him at Kutama today for the posthumous centenary birthday celebrations for President Robert Mugabe,” read a caption on an image posted on X by Mawarire.
Mugabe, who ruled Zimbabwe from 1980 to 2017, died in 2019 aged 95.
He would have been 100 this year.
The former leader once predicted in an interview he was going to reach a hundred years alive.
His posthumous centenary celebrations came as the nation observed the Zimbabwe National Youth Day, a holiday that was declared by the current Emmerson Mnangagwa led administration to celebrate Zimbabwean youths.
The youth day coincides with Mugabe’s birthday on 21 February and is a sequel of the late dictator’s once famous birthday celebrations under the auspices of the now defunct 21st February Movement.
Mugabe’s extravagant birthday celebrations were once a prominent feature on the national political calendar and were themed around celebrating Zimbabwean youths.
