#KnowYourCosafaCupCountries: Zimbabwe
A landlocked country in Southern Africa, the Republic of Zimbabwe is a country of roughly 16 million people.
POLOKWANE – It is known for its dramatic landscape and diverse wildlife, much of it within parks, reserves and safari areas and is situated between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique.
The capital and largest city is Harare and the country has 16 official languages, with English, Shona, and Ndebele most commonly used.
The most common dish found in the country is Sadza, which is stiff maize meal that can be rolled into a ball and dipped into meat, sauce, gravy, sour milk, stewed vegetables or dovi, which is a traditional peanut butter stew with meat or vegetables.
FIVE FACTS ABOUT ZIMBABWE:
• The first people of the country were Bantu-speaking Iron Age farmers that settled in the region around 300 AD.
•Born on 21 February 1924, Zimbabwe’s former president, Robert Gabriel Mugabe was one of the oldest and longest-serving leaders of a non-royal country in the world. He had served as the leader of Zimbabwe for 36 years. He served as the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then assumed office as the President of Zimbabwe on 22 December 1987. He resigned from office on 21st November 2017.
• Zimbabwe abandoned its currency and is currently using others’. This happened after massive inflation hit the country in 2008. The country abandoned its currency and has been using the U.S. Dollar, the South African Rand and the Botswana Pula since 12 April 2009.
• In Zimbabwe, it is illegal for police to impound your vehicle. The only occasion when they can do so is when they ask you to produce your driver’s license.
• Zimbabwe have won a total of eight medals at the Olympic Games in two sports; hockey (1) and swimming (7). At the 2004 Summer Olympics, in Athens, Greece, Kirtsy Coventry won three Olympic medals: a gold, a silver, and a bronze, while in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing she won four medals: a gold and three silver. A gold medal was won by the women’s national field hockey team in the 1980.
