Makanakaishe Charamba is training hard. He intends to race the 100m and 200m races in the 2025 World Athletics Championship in Tokyo. “With the experience that I got in Paris, I feel like it’s a confidence booster as to the upcoming season,” said the 23-year-old to The Herald in January 2025. And what an experience it was! Racing against Noah Lyles and Letsile Tebogo, he got to test his limits to the fullest.
He finished the 1st round in second place and was third in the semifinals. The finals saw him come in eighth, but he has already proved his mettle. The Zimbabwean has been dominating the track circuit at Auburn, and it looks like he is ready for the world stage. But today, we won’t talk about his track and field life. Rather, we will get to know his family and who his parents are.
Who is Makanakaishe Charamba’s father?
Makanakaishe’s father is George Charamba, a rather famous bureaucrat in Zimbabwe. Born on April 4, 1963, in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), George Charamba has had a long career in government office. In 2000, he was appointed the Press Secretary for the then President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe. Basically, he was the official channel of communication for the president.
He also served as the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information from 2000 to 2018. He was quite influential in lobbying for the government in power. As far as his educational background is concerned, Makanakaishe’s father attended Hartzell High School. Then, he earned a degree in English from the University of Zimbabwe.
Charamba has also received a British Foreign and Commonwealth Office Chevening Scholarship, with the help of which he earned a master’s in journalism and media studies at Cardiff University. As for his personal life, Charamba has married twice, and our Olympian star Makanakaishe is his son from his first marriage.
What role did George play in Makanakaishe’s life? It was his father who pushed him to pursue his academics diligently. Hillcrest College was a prestigious institution in Zimbabwe, and George wanted Makanakaishe to get the best education. And not only academics, even the athletic pursuits of the 2024 SEC Bronze Champion in 200m were encouraged by George.
When Makanakaishe made the choice that he would pursue track and field as a professional career instead of rugby, his father didn’t object. Eventually, it worked out perfectly for the Zimbabwean. But we cannot forget the cultured influence his mother had on him and has made him a sophisticated man all around.
Who is Makanakaishe’s mother?
Makanakaishe’s childhood is incomplete without Rudo Grace Charamba. The galiant woman raised Makanakaishe with the proper values, which now shows. And for the track and field athlete, his mother has been the biggest gift of his life. “I cherish every second, minute, hour, day, month and year we’ve shared,” said Makanakaishe in his Instagram post on October 2, 2022, when she passed away.
Being closest to each other, his grief was even greater: “I wish you could just come back and watch how our goals are going. I miss you every moment, relentlessly.” And being a perfect son, Makanakaishe Charamba gave the most heartfelt tribute to his mother: “I dedicate everything that I do to you as you invested your all in me because you believed that I had everything it takes to be the person I’ve always wanted to be.” He is going strong, no doubt, and Rudo Grace is a proud mother.
Dr. Gwata-Charamba passed away on October 3, 2021, due to kidney-related complications. She was an accomplished woman, holding a doctoral degree. She was also an author who wrote for The Herald. Her most important contribution was as a development project/programme management consultant and researcher with a focus on Results-Based Management (RBM), Governance, and Leadership.
There is no doubt Makanakaishe has had a cultured upbringing and great influence of honor, integrity, and upholding justice, thanks to his mother.
What is Makanakaishe Charamba’s parents’ nationality?
George Charamba and Dr. Rudo Grace Gwata-Charamba are Zimbabwean nationals. So is Makanakaishe, and it was a proud moment as a Zimbabwean to lift the national flag at the Paris Olympics: “Lifting up my flag and waving it around on camera… Probably one of the best experiences of the Games.” Now, he will be looking to deepen his legacy in the track and field community, and that is only possible by taking on the best.
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