Woman believed to be world's oldest person dies aged 128

A woman who claimed to be the world’s oldest person has died at the age of 128, her family have confirmed.

Johanna Mazibuko, from South Africa, is believed to have been born on 11 May 1894, having lived a life that has spanned three centuries.

Her family announced that she had passed away just two months before her 129th birthday, and said the community is deeply ‘saddened’ by the loss.

Her daughter-in-law Thandiwe Wesinyana, who also served as her caregiver, told English-language South African news outlet News24: “We loved to pray together and spent most of our days drinking tea and talking. I don’t know who I’m going to have fun with anymore.

“A wound has opened, my heart is sore, and I am shattered. The community is saddened. We’ve all lost a mother.”

SABC

The mother-of-seven said she was born on a farm near Ottosdal in the central North West Province, and carried documents that claimed she was born in 1894.

However, her age has never been verified by an official body like Guinness World Records.

Speaking to South African news channel SABC News in September last year, Mazibuko explained that she was raised by her aunt before getting married – going on to have seven children, a number of whom are still alive.

“We lived well at the farm, unlike where we live now,” she said from her home.

“Here, we have to buy everything, unlike back at the farm."

She continued: “We used to hear people talk about apartheid, but we didn’t know what it was. We heard about comrades, but I knew nothing about them... We heard about Mandela, but I didn’t know him. All we heard was that Mandela was our leader who was in prison.”

Unfortunately, she said she had no secrets to offer about her incredible age, as she was simply amazed that she was still going.

SABC

“I always ask myself why I’m still here,” she told reporters Sentleeng Lehihi and Jabu oa-Afrika.

“They say I am the granny of the world. Is the person who could be the granny of the whole world? Because I don’t even know how I got here.

“I yearn for nothing. I am just waiting to see where my life will end. It’s by the grace that I see the sun rise and set.”

When asked what her secret to a long life was, Mazibuko laughed and replied: “No, no! I can’t give you the secret. I can’t give you the secret because I don’t even know how I got here.”

Saying she couldn’t ‘walk anymore’ and required nappies, Mazibuko said she just wanted a comfortable life before joining her ancestors.