ZIMBABWE’S FIRST PhD IN 1499! THE MUNHUMUTAPA PRINCE WHO BECAME A CARDINAL!”
According to historical accounts, Southern Rhodesia now Zimbabwe may have produced its first PhD holder as far back as 1499. The figure at the centre of this astonishing story is Miguel Mutapa, the son of Emperor Munhumutapa.
Sent abroad by early Jesuit missionaries, the young royal travelled to Goa, India, where he trained as a Jesuit priest before continuing his religious studies in Portugal. There, he is said to have earned a doctorate in Theology centuries before formal universities even existed in Southern Africa.
His journey did not end in Europe. Mutapa reportedly rose through the ranks of the Catholic Church, eventually becoming a Cardinal stationed in Brazil. His remarkable life bridged continents, cultures, and empires at a time when such travel was almost unimaginable.
Today, his legacy is said to rest in a cathedral in Brasília, where he is believed to be buried an extraordinary story of a Munhumutapa prince who became a global religious figure.
If you want a more dramatic, more factual, or more conservative version, I can adjust the tone.