Former Zimbabwe Warriors skipper Benjani Mwaruwari has said he got the name Benjani by mistake after officers at the registry offices failed to capture his original name correctly.
In an interview with South African sportscaster Robert Marawa on his radio programme Legends Night at the weekend, the former Manchester City striker said:
My real name is Mpenjani. But you know my father (Amon) is from Malawi, so the pronunciation is not that great. So when he went to get my birth certificate they thought he said Benjani. And so on my birth certificate, it’s written Benjani.
When I was playing in Zimbabwe, the person who was writing the team card did not look properly on my particulars and he wrote Benjamin, instead of Benjani.
So that is where the name Benjamin came from. In Zimbabwe, everyone knew me as Benjamin and in South Africa as well.
He added that in Europe, he was simply known as Benjani after clubs found it difficult for them to pronounce his surname.
The Undertaker, as Benjani id affectionately known, said those who know him from Magwegwe, where he grew up, call him Mpe for Mpenjani which means “what do you want”.
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