The Sunday News
Dumani Moyo Sunday News Reporter
A WOMAN believed to have been 112 years old, Hele Ngwenya, died last Thursday at Ekuphumuleni Old People’s Home in Bulawayo after experiencing age-related health complications.Family members, who spoke to our reporter, said they were not in mourning but were celebrating the years that were lived by Gogo MaNgwenya.
Mr Makhunga Moyo, a grandson to the centenarian, said no one in the family was upset about her death. “We are all happy because we are celebrating the years that she managed to live. Before she died, she even told us not to cry when she dies so we are actually happy that she is now resting,” said Mr Moyo.
He added that Gogo MaNgwenya’s narratives suggested that she might have been more than 104, her official age.
“On her birth certificate it is stated that she was born in 1910. However, she used to tell us that when she was young, she would carry Tafi Moyo, who is more than 104 years on her back when they were crossing rivers,” he said.
Cde Tafi Moyo is 108 years old.
Mr Moyo explained that when his granny got her national identity card, she was assisted by someone who changed her surname to Nkundla. “There was a certain man with the surname Nkundla who used to work for my father. He is the one who assisted my granny to get her national identity card,” he said.
Mrs Octavia Moyo, another grandchild to Gogo MaNgwenya, said cleanliness was her grandmother’s key to long life.
“I think there is no need to be sad about our loss because when she died, she had played her part. We will always remember her especially for her wisdom and advice which was always readily available no matter the problem. She was a very smart woman, she was always clean, I think that was the secret behind her longevity,” said Mr Moyo.
Gogo MaNgwenya is survived by two daughters, 31 grandchildren, 76 great-grandchildren and nine great-great-grandchildren.
She will be buried today in Hakuna Village in Kezi.
A 127-year-old woman was recently reported as saying she’s the world’s oldest living person. The Mexican great-great-grandmother, Leandra Becerra Lumbreras, was born on 31 August 1887.
