WHY DID VP CHIWENGA’S WIFE YELL “CIVIL MARRIAGE”? — A LOUD DECLARATION, OR A LOADED WARNING?

By Dorrothy Moyo, 13 June 2025

Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s wife, Colonel Miniyothabo Baloyi, has shaken Zimbabwean social media with a thunderous public post marking her third wedding anniversary. But it’s not the celebration itself that’s caught attention — it’s her choice of words.

“Civil marriage….Today 3 years ago. Happy anniversary to us ❤️,” she wrote. But the tone was anything but calm. The emphasis — “civil marriage” — came with the weight of a statement meant to be heard beyond lovebirds and well-wishers. Many are now asking: why scream “civil marriage” into the public square?

1. 

Is She Drawing a Legal Boundary?

Baloyi’s wording is not typical romantic fluff. Her use of “civil marriage” — underlined and dramatically punctuated — seems deliberately legalistic. In Zimbabwean law, a civil marriage under the Marriages Act [Chapter 5:11] offers exclusivity, legal protection, and a shield against polygamy — unlike customary unions. This may be Baloyi’s way of publicly affirming that she holds the sole legally recognized position as Chiwenga’s wife. No small statement in a political landscape where polygamy, secret lobolas, and power games in the bedroom often overlap with those in the boardroom.

2. 

The Red Carpet Stumble: A Humiliation Gone Viral

This loud declaration comes just months after another viral moment: on 24 July 2024, Baloyi appeared in a now-notorious clip bowing awkwardly — some said embarrassingly — on the red carpet while accompanying Chiwenga on a foreign trip. Social media users pounced, with accusations that she was “acting like a maid, not a Vice President’s wife.”

Was the “civil marriage” post a clap-back at those mockers? Or was it a deeper retort to internal humiliation — perhaps a signal that while she may stumble in protocol, her status in law is untouchable?

3. 

The Mandaza Facebook Exchange: She’s Just a Wife, or Is She?

In May, Baloyi clashed publicly with a commenter named Chapman Tavapatsa Mandaza, who questioned her role in foreign policy visits. She responded sharply:

“I don’t have a say in any ministry because I don’t have a government office nor mandate whatsoever — I’m just a wife to my husband. Period.”

But her insistence on that “just a wife” identity now sounds ironic, given today’s loud anniversary post. It seems she’s not only asserting her lack of political power, but doubling down on her marital credentials — with a legal stamp to boot.

SO, WHAT IS BALOYI SIGNALING?

• To ZANU-PF power brokers: She’s not a mistress, not a girlfriend, not a ceremonial accessory. She is Chiwenga’s civil wife — the only one who can legally claim that title.
• To potential rivals: This could be a pre-emptive legal positioning ahead of any succession battles or estate wrangles.
• To critics and trolls: She’s shutting down speculation with a precise, lawful declaration.
  

And perhaps — to Chiwenga himself — it’s a message: Whatever happens politically, remember I’m the one on paper.

Colonel Miniyothabo Baloyi didn’t just post a photo today — she posted a message. Her “civil marriage” anniversary post is not just a toast to love, it’s a shot across the bow in the murky waters of Zimbabwean power dynamics. Loud, proud, and legally fortified, she’s telling the world exactly where she stands — in law, in marriage, and in the narrative.