Murewa district
once had four traditional leaders. However, three were dissolved by the
colonial regime, leaving the whole district under the Mangwende chieftaincy.
Local
Government and Public Works minister, Daniel Garwe, recently told a Zanu PF
inter-district meeting at Hurungwe Primary School that the government is moving
to install three more chiefs in Murewa to ease the burden on Chief Mangwende,
real name Morgan Taaziva Gatsi.
“The
government, with the guidance of traditional leaders, will continue to
resuscitate chieftainships that were affected by colonial legacies,” Garwe
said.
“In Murewa,
government is set to install three new chiefs whose chieftainship was once
abolished by the white settlers in 1896 because the people had refused to
cooperate and to be subjugated by the colonialists. Chief Mangwende will remain
a chief.
“The addition
of these chiefs will be instrumental in building a prosperous Murewa and
contributing to Vision 2030.”
The incumbent
Chief Mangwende has appointed a steering committee to assist him in running the
affairs in the district.
However, the
committee stands accused of allegedly running a parallel process without the
knowledge of the traditional leader. The committee has been accused of
installing village heads and headmen in the resettlement areas, especially in
Murewa South constituency, without Chief Mangwende's knowledge.
Currently,
resettlement areas are led by village development committees.
The steering
committee is led by Franklin Mukarakate (chairperson), Edmore Mangwende
(secretary), and committee members Tichafa Chibanda and Charles Mukarakate.
A Local
Government investigation done by a six-member team led by one C Shumba
(principal director of Rural Development and Rural Local Authorities) and
gleaned by NewsDay Weekender, recommended the installation of three more
chiefs.
“This proposal
will see the current Mangwende chieftainship being split into two and then
resuscitating the Bandakamwe RaGatsi and Nyagwizu Chikonamombe Dzete
chieftainships,” read part of the report.
“. . . In terms
of section 283b of the Constitution and section 29 of The Traditional Leaders
Act, it is recommended that Murewa district be divided into four chieftainship
areas as here understated.”
Murewa district
has the second largest population in Mashonaland East province and the biggest
in the province in terms of geographical area, covering 3 554 square
kilometres.
The district,
located about 87km from Harare, has 30 wards, 336 villages in the communal
areas and five headmen.
The report,
based on the 2012 census, argued that Chief Mangwende has 195 085 subjects as
compared to Binga district, Matabeleland North province, where a chief has an
average of 6 000 subjects.
According to
the 2022 census report, Murewa district has 205 440 people.
The report said
having Chief Mangwende as the sole traditional leader in the district was
fuelling corruption.
“Murewa
district, being the second largest in the province in terms of population size
and geographical coverage, has only one chief, a situation that is proving
untenable administratively both to central government and in terms of
traditional leadership systems,” the report read.
“The
investigation team revealed that inhabitants of the area are finding it
difficult to access the services of the chief, especially when they have to go
to the Mukarakate area whenever they want their disputes addressed.
“Communities
from the furthest areas, on average, have to fork out US$30 in a single journey
to Mukarakate, when, on average, for each dispute, more than five people will
be needed, including witnesses. This amount of money is difficult to get in
communal areas, effectively meaning many disgruntled communities cannot have
their disputes resolved in time or at all because the chief is not easily
accessible.
“The cost
factor is deterrent enough for Murewa people to access legal justice from the
chief’s local court. Newsday
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