Zimbabwe has declared September 15 an annual public holiday, naming it Munhumutapa Day in recognition of the country’s pre-colonial heritage.
The decision was formalised through Statutory Instrument 148 of 2026, published in the Government Gazette on September 9, 2026.
The first observance will be held on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, coinciding with President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s 84th birthday. Mnangagwa was born on September 15, 1942.
Munhumutapa refers to the title held by rulers of the historic Mutapa state, a pre-colonial kingdom that extended across parts of present-day Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
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Although the holiday falls on the President’s birthday, it is officially designated Munhumutapa Day and does not bear his name.
Zimbabwe has a precedent for presidential birthday-linked holidays. In 2017, the government designated February 21, the birthday of former President Robert Mugabe, as Robert Gabriel Mugabe National Youth Day.
The holiday was gazetted through Statutory Instrument 143 of 2017, shortly after Mugabe resigned in November 2017.
The new designation places September 15 on Zimbabwe’s permanent public holiday calendar from 2026.