President Mugabe’s family welcomes his secret child after DNA results said 99.99% probability: “Many Mugabe’s children are emerging”

The Mugabe family has welcomed Tonderai Robert Mugabe into their fold, resolving a long-standing family secret and a complex legal battle.

Tonderai, who claims to be the son of the late former president Robert Mugabe, has been acknowledged by several family members following DNA evidence confirming a 99.997871% probability of a familial relationship with a half-sibling.

This dramatic development comes five years after Mugabe’s death and sheds light on a previously unknown chapter in the life of Zimbabwe’s former strongman.

Several key figures within the Mugabe family have publicly affirmed Tonderai’s claim. Chief Johhanes Karigamombe Mugabe, the former president’s younger brother, confirmed Tonderai’s presence at the family homestead in Kutama following his release from State House in 2015, after an incident where he stormed the building demanding to see his father.

While Chief Karigamombe noted that no formal traditional welcoming ceremony took place, his acknowledgment is a significant step in the family’s acceptance of Tonderai.

“I know him from his visits here, but there is nothing done traditionally on welcoming him. There are many children who later come saying they are Mugabe’s children but some are doing it so that they know their family line and some are for material things,” he stated.

Further solidifying Tonderai’s claim, Kaitano Mutandwa Mugabe, son of Mugabe’s younger brother Donato, provided an affidavit acknowledging Tonderai as family. The affidavit, which was seen by the Standard, states: “In my capacity as the eldest son in the family, I have accepted and (taken) my younger brother Tonderai Gabriel Mugabe aboard.”

The affidavit also details that Bridget Mugabe, the late president’s sister, introduced Tonderai to his father at State House. Bridget’s daughter, Laurencia, also confirmed Tonderai as Mugabe’s son in her own affidavit.

“We separated when the mother took the child to Cde Fay Chung after the war. We thought him and his mother had died because we could not find him. Later on, he was found by my mother Bridget Mugabe. He is the son of Robert Mugabe,” she stated.

Tonderai’s claim is based on his birth at the Chimoio base in Mozambique on April 20, 1977, during the liberation war, to Hilda Maeka and Robert Mugabe. His mother, whose Chimurenga name was Cde Paidamoyo, died in 1995 from hypertension-related complications and was posthumously accorded liberation hero status by Mugabe.

A letter dated July 18, 2016, from then Zanu PF secretary for administration Ignatius Chombo, confirms this posthumous honour: “I, His Excellency, the president and first secretary of Zanu (PF), Cde R.G. Mugabe has conferred a liberation war heroine status to the late Cde Hilda Maeka who passed away on September 29, 1995.”

Tonderai’s mother, he explains, kept his father’s identity secret out of fear of upsetting Sally Mugabe, the former president’s wife. This secrecy was further corroborated by Tonderai’s maternal grandfather, Thomas Maeka, who described numerous unsuccessful attempts to have the Mugabe family acknowledge Tonderai.

“Tonderai’s mother worked in one of the offices in Mozambique, that is when she met Robert Mugabe,” Thomas Maeka explained. “We did not know the father of the baby she brought from the war because she was secretive about it. We only got to know about it when Tonderai met some senior party officials in Harare.

“From there, I had numerous interactions with one of Mugabe’s close relatives, but nothing materialised. He always promised me that he was going to talk to Mugabe about the issue, but he would get evasive each time I made follow-ups. We eventually kept quiet.”

Despite the family’s acceptance, Tonderai’s journey has been far from easy. He describes a challenging upbringing in Glen Norah, attending Shiriyedenga Primary School and later resorting to scrap metal trading to fund his education after his mother’s death.

He recounts his mother’s entrepreneurial spirit: “My mother was one of the first people to get into business after the war. She had a number of knitting machines which she used to generate income.”

The DNA evidence, showing a 99.997871% probability of a familial relationship with a half-sibling, provided crucial support for his claim. However, despite this compelling evidence, the registrar of births and deaths has refused to issue him with a birth certificate acknowledging Mugabe as his father.

This refusal has led to Tonderai’s current High Court application, seeking to reopen Mugabe’s estate and obtain the necessary documentation. He cites Bona Mugabe, the appointed estate manager, the registrar of births and deaths, and the master of the High Court as respondents. The case, set to be heard this week, promises to be a significant legal and social event, highlighting the complexities of legacy and family secrets, even in the lives of the most powerful figures.

Chief Karigamombe’s comment, “There are many children who later come saying they are Mugabe’s children…” suggests the possibility of further similar claims emerging.