People within her community are pushing for South Africa’s Johanna Mazibuko to be recognised as the world’s oldest person by the Guinness World Records.
Nkukutane Johanna Mazibuko was born on 11 May 1894 and she has lived to see apartheid, both World Wars, man landing on the moon and saw through the independence of every colonised African country.
Every modern technology the world has now; from cars, aeroplanes, cellphones and the internet, was created during her lifetime which stretches over three centuries.
South Africa’s Johanna Mazibuko
South Africa’s Johanna Mazibuko Holding Her ID [Image: News24]
The matriarch has lived so long that of the seven children she bore, only two are still alive and she has over 50 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Although she has a hard time hearing, Gogo Mazibuko is still able to walk and see clearly.
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She was raised on a maize farm in Ottosdal in the central North West Province of South Africa. The 128-year-old was the eldest of 12 children and she currently lives in Jouberton, Klerksdorp.
She told News24 that she got married to a man who was considerably older than her as he was a widower. The man took great care of her.
Gogo Mazibuko said:
“I was married to an older man. His first wife had died. He was an independent man. He had a horse carriage and cows. I would milk the cows and make butter to sell. That man treated me very well and made me forget about my life before him. I did not want for anything.”
Despite her husband being well off, Johanna was also a domestic worker for owners of farms.
South Africa’s Johanna Mazibuko
South Africa’s Johanna Mazibuko [Image: News24]
Despite not being quite certain about how she has managed to live to see 128 years, Gogo Mazibuko believes her longevity can be credited to traditional diets.
She said she used to eat fresh milk, wild spinach and locusts.
Gogo Mazibuko is now 128 and she now stays with a carer who looks after her. The two are inseparable and cannot do without each other
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