She is a member of ZANU–PF, and previously held leadership roles in the party's youth and women's leagues.
[1] Her father Elias Kanengoni, who died in 2013, is a former deputy director of the Central Intelligence Organisation.
[2] She attended the University of Cape Town in South Africa, graduating with a Bachelor of Social Science in Politics and Gender Studies.
[3] In the 2013 general election, Kanengoni-Malinga ran as the ZANU–PF candidate for the National Assembly constituency of Mazowe Central.
[3][5] She organized a committee to investigation corruption within ZIFA, which revealed mismanagement and theft of funds by the association's leaders.
[2] Kanengoni-Malinga is from Mashonaland Central Province and her husband is from Bulawayo; they met at a ZANU–PF party conference in the capital, Harare.
[2] Her husband is also involved in politics, having served as secretary of external affairs in the party's Youth League.