Mudenge was born Isaak Stanislaus Mudenge on 17 December 1941 in Zimuto an area in Masvingo Province. He was a professional historian whose work focused on African history in general and specialized in pre-colonial Zimbabwe. He published several books and articles in this regard.
He was educated at the following schools and universities:
- Gaths Mine School (1951-55)
- Gokomere Mission (1956-62)
- Goromonzi High School (1963-64)
- University College Rhodesia and Nyasaland (1965-66)
- University of York, UK (1967-68)
- University of London, UK (1968-71)
During his career he worked as:
- History lecturer at Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone (1971-73)
- History lecturer, at the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland
- Senior lecturer of History at the University of Lesotho (1975)
- Dean, Faculty of Humanities and acting Pro-Vice Chancellor, University of Lesotho (1978)
Following the countries independence he worked in government in positions that included:
- Permanent Secretary,Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1980)
- Zimbabwe's Ambassador to the United Nations (1985)
- Minister of Foreign Affairs (1995-2005)
- Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education (2005-2012)
He died on the 4th of October 2012. He was declared a national hero and buried at the National Heroes Acre in Harare.