Chamisa slams Mnangagwa birthday holiday, “Zimbabwe needs sensible leaders”

Opposition politician Nelson Chamisa has criticised the declaration of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s birthday, 15 September, as a public holiday named Munhumutapa Day.

The declaration was made through Statutory Instrument 148 of 2026, under the Public Holidays and Prohibition of Business Act, and published in the Government Gazette Extraordinary on 9 September 2026.

The holiday is being presented as a celebration of Zimbabwe’s pre-colonial history and civilisation, taking its name from Munhumutapa (also written Mwenemutapa), the royal title used by rulers of the Mutapa Empire, which emerged in the 15th century and covered parts of present-day Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The title is commonly translated as “lord of the conquered lands.”

Zimbabwe has had only two executive presidents since independence in 1980: Mnangagwa and his predecessor, Robert Mugabe. Canaan Banana served as a ceremonial president in the 1980s, with executive power resting with the then Prime Minister, Mugabe.

Mugabe’s own birthday, 21 February, has similarly been declared a public holiday, marked as National Youth Day.

Reacting to the new holiday, Chamisa argued that Zimbabwe needed more sensible leadership.

“Zimbabwe needs sensible leaders. Just imagine if every US president had declared his own birthday a national public holiday — the United States could theoretically have 45 additional presidential birthday holidays, because 45 different individuals have served as president,” he said.

“Just imagine if every president had made his own birthday a public holiday, America would be celebrating presidents instead of being productive and fulfilling national goals. In Zimbabwe, we need a new direction.”