HARARE-(MaraviPost)-Two viral videos from Zimbabwe’s Munhumutapa Day celebrations have sparked debate online about poverty and politics in the country.
The inaugural Munhumutapa Day, named to mark President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s birthday and recently declared a public holiday, was commemorated this year in Mvurwi, Mashonaland Central province.
Thousands of ruling party ZANU PF supporters were bussed in from across the country to attend the event.
Apparently, in one clip trending on social media, a man enjoying roasted chicken from fast-food chain Chicken Inn for the first time at the celebrations is seen heaping praise on the president.
Asked on camera how long he would want Mnangagwa to remain in power, he replied: “For ever.”
In a separate video from the same event, a 65-year-old woman from Gokwe said she was excited after eating a piece of cake for the first time in her life.
She said the journey from Gokwe to Mvurwi by bus was worth it for the cake, and that she would continue voting for Zanu PF for giving her the opportunity.
The videos have drawn mixed reactions on Zimbabwean social media, with some users expressing sympathy over the levels of deprivation they reflect, while others criticised what they described as the exploitation of poverty for political loyalty.
Mnangagwa recently declared September 15, his birthday, an annual public holiday to be known as Munhumutapa Day.
The declaration was published on September 9, 2026, under Statutory Instrument 148 of 2026, as a supplement to the Zimbabwean Government Gazette Extraordinary.
Titled the Public Holidays and Prohibition of Business (Declaration of Public Holiday) Notice, 2026, it was enacted under section 2(2) of the Public Holidays and Prohibition of Business Act [Chapter 10:21].
Under the notice, September 15 will be observed across the country as a public holiday every year.
The holiday honours the legacy of the pre-colonial Mutapa Empire, whose rule covered parts of present-day Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
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