Zimbabwean beats world record, turns 165 and becomes world’s oldest living person

Ndolwane born George Tshuma

Until recently, the debates surrounding the world’s oldest man to be alive have dominated the internet, with some believing that the oldest person to ever live was Jeanne Calment of France who died at age 122 in 1997 while some records on the internet claim that Kane Tanaka of Japan at 118 years is currently the world’s oldest person.

Talking of those of the 1800s, the biased internet names Emma Martina Luigia Morano OMRI an Italian alleged to have been born in 1899 and passed on at 117 in 2017. Of course some records identify Zaro Aga who is claimed to have died at age 170 years in 1934. Some records also name Mbah Goto, the Indonesian who is said to have died aged 146 in 2017.

What is interesting, however, is that of the entire so called world’s oldest people, none from Africa have ever been documented. The rhetoric seems to follow the same westernisation of African history where “nothing can ever come from the ‘cursed’ ‘dark’ continent”. 

To believe that something as old as above 120 years can ever come from Africa, more so during corona period seems to be a western taboo. I think history should be forgiven for this ignorance.

Today this blog, brings the shocking news of George Tshuma (pictured), who, born in Plumtree’s Ndolwane area of Matebeleland South Province sometime in 1856 is alive at 165 years!

Except minor issues of now being blind and nearly deaf because of old age, Mr Tshuma is gracefully working for a whopping 166 years which he will soon reach anyway.

Close relatives say that at his enormous age, Mr Tshuma who originally had 15 children now has 8 who are still alive and walking this earth and one can only wonder how old they are.

Mr Tshuma became a widower in 2012 when his long time sweetheart Kuku Thenjiwe Khupe passed away at age 105, having been born in 1907. 

Both were/are Kalanga.

Mr Tshuma who has defied even the novel coronavirus has seen his great grandchildren of the sixth generation.

It is even more interesting to learn that apart from his great grandchildren who take good care of him, one of his sons-in-law who himself is actually a 100 years old also takes good care of him where after farming, he sends maize all the way from Lower Gweru where he is currently based.

This son-in-law/father-in-law fabric and the obligations are testimony to some of the Kalanga people’s oldest cultures that have stood the test of both time and history.

The Tshumas were always farmers and close relatives say he is actually very rich!

Who on earth could ever think that anything so wonderful could ever come from Zimbabwe, let alone from Ndolwane kuBuKalanga? Nonetheless, records speak for themselves.

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