119-YEAR-OLD GRANNY STILL COOKS
God gave me life in abundance, plus a bonus. I am very old now
SHE has lived through the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. She has also lived through two world wars, and the beginning and end of apartheid.
At the astonishing age of 119, Johanna Nkukuthane Mazibuko still cooks, does her own laundry and makes her bed every morning.
Her mind and eyesight are still razor sharp, though her arthritic legs can’t carry her as well as they used to. She has lost all but six of her teeth and enjoys watching TV.
She is 24 years older than former president Nelson Mandela, who she said she knows from TV and wishes him a speedy recovery.
Born in 1894, the 119-year-old granny from Klerksdorp in North West is probably the oldest living person in the world.
A Japanese man, Jiroemon Kimura, who was reputed to be the world ’ s oldest person, died last month at the age of 116.
According to the Guinness World Records, the official record holder for the oldest living person is Jeanne Calment of France, who died at the age of 122 in 1997.
However, retired Chinese farmer Luo Meizhen, who also died last month at the age of 127, is reputed to be the world’s oldest person ever. Her age has not been entered into the Guinness World Records yet.
Sowetan found Mazibuko in high spirits during a visit yesterday at the humble home she shares with her 77year-old son Tseko Mazibuko.
“I’m doing alright,” she said in a lively, clear voice.
She instructed her son to look for her ID in a box where she keeps her valuables, but Tseko could not find the green book.
“Look again,” she instructed him like a mother to a son. “I put it there myself. ”
When it was eventually found, it confirmed her date of birth as 1894.
“She is able to move on her own but cannot stand for a long time. She gets dizzy,” remarked Tseko.
“But she makes her bed every morning as she gets herself dressed. She is meticulous in everything she does, including dishing up food, ” Tseko said.
Born in Ottosdal, Mazibuko is the first born of 10 children. Two of her sisters and a brother are still alive.
“I got married at a tender age. I married an older man. During those days parents chose partners for us. My parents chose a husband for me. We got married and had seven children,” she said.
Five of her children have since died. But she is not complaining.
“God gave me life in abundance, plus a bonus. I am very old now,” she said. –