By Newsdesk
Janet Banana, the widow of Zimbabwe’s first president Canaan Banana died aged 83 on Thursday.
She died at Bulawayo’s Mater Dei Hospital.
Janet born Janet Mbuyazwe; 1938 – 29 July 2021 was a Zimbabwean socialite, who was married to the country’s first President, Canaan Banana since 1961 until his death.
She served as the first First Lady of Zimbabwe from 1980 until 1987. The couple had four children.
Due to a constitutional amendment, Canaan Banana was removed from the office of President, into which Prime Minister Robert Mugabe was instated. Despite her term as First Lady, Janet Banana did not receive a pension from either Mugabe or his successor as president, Emmerson Mnangagwa
She later received her spousal pension after her return to Zimbabwe after 18 years in the United Kingdom.
Banana sought political asylum in the United Kingdom in October 2000. She was awarded British citizenship in 2006, and took the oath of allegiance on 10 February 2006 at a ceremony in the London Borough of Haringey in front of the Mayor of Haringey.
She died on 29 July 2021 at the Bulawayo’s Mater Dei Hospital
