Joanah Mamombe first entered the Zimbabwean Parliament in 2018 at just 25 years old, the youngest Member of Parliament. Re-elected in 2023 and now chairing the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Joanah has spent years navigating the challenges of governance, opposition politics and civic leadership.
In 2024, she stepped away from frontline politics to join the Master of Public Policy (MPP) course at the Blavatnik School of Government. "I came not to escape, but to recharge – to deepen my skills, expand my perspective and return to public service better equipped to represent people."
Joanah’s career in public life began on Zimbabwe’s university campuses, where she led student campaigns against tuition hikes and gender-based harassment. Her advocacy opened international doors: a year studying in Norway, then a master’s in genetics and molecular biology at the University of Sussex. But her sights remained set on public service in her home country.
In 2018, after a stint of international study, she returned home to contest national elections. Her campaign was bold, youth-led, and fuelled by energy. Joanah won, with the third highest result of any capital city constituency. Her agenda was shaped by experience: championing access to education and restoring dignity to Zimbabwe’s once-celebrated public schools. "Education is personal for me. I’ve seen how it can open up opportunities – and how it’s being closed off."
By the end of her first term, Joanah was disillusioned. "I expected Parliament to give me more tools than activism did. But the system was harder and more rigid, especially for an opposition MP." When a Zimbabwean Blavatnik School alumnus reached out to her with an application link, "the opportunity came at the right time”.
The Oxford-Oak Zimbabwe Scholarship allowed her to pursue this opportunity. “As much as I had dreamed of Oxford, it wouldn’t have been possible without funding. The Oxford-Oak scholarship came to bridge the gap.”
Joanah was one of the inaugural recipients of the scholarship, established specifically to support Zimbabwean students, and that significance was not lost on her. “It resonates with my values – about access, about growing yourself to serve others better. I’m proud to have been part of the first cohort, and pleased that the School recognised the need for this kind of support given Zimbabwe’s political context.”
At the School, Joanah found a place to recharge. "I came with nothing to pour, the Zimbabwean political environment had drained me mentally and emotionally, I neglected to refill my cup. But every day at BSG, the people around me poured into my cup, I learned how to breathe again, I found a place to pause, to be challenged but most importantly to be restored." She credits the intellectual diversity, the friendships, and the global perspectives with transforming how she thinks about leadership.
I’ve studied in Europe before but never with this level of international representation. Eighty countries represented in a classroom... I mean, wow!
She speaks passionately about the Policy Challenge modules and negotiation simulations, which connected academic theory to real-world practice and provided a forum for exchange with classmates.
I absolutely loved the simulations. They gave us the chance to work closely with our colleagues just like in the seminars. You really felt the team spirit, which is something we were told from day one: the MPP is a team sport.
She also highlights the mentorship programme. Her mentor was Tonye Cole, a former Transformational Leadership Fellow at the School and Nigerian businessman who has experience of standing for public office. He became a consistent sounding board.
I want to say I benefited a lot from my Blavatnik School mentor. You walk the journey through the whole academic year with the person. Once a month, we’d crystallise what I was learning in class, reflect on what I was experiencing back home, and connect it all to my long-term goals. He helped me join the dots.
She also loved the events that brought together influential public figures like former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Zimbabwean James Manyika who is Vice President of Google, and Visiting Professor Amal Clooney with the student body. “What stood out was that it wasn’t just a speech – they opened the floor to questions. That’s what made it feel like a true academic space: we were encouraged to challenge, to explore and to really engage with different perspectives”
Returning to Zimbabwe, Joanah has taken up her post as chair of a parliamentary committee and resumed her constituency work in Harare. “The MPP gave me every skill I needed to bridge the gap in my policy work". The course was not a detour from public service; it was an investment in doing it better.
One piece of advice that she was given in a one-to-one meeting with a faculty member stays with her: "Sometimes we want to change everything at once. But change often comes one brick at a time. By the end of the year, a whole wall can be built”. Oxford gave me a lifetime experience, for me it was a rebirth, I taught me that I am enough.
September 2025