The ManicaPost
Lovemore Kadzura
Rusape Correspondent
HUNDREDS of people from Makoni on Wednesday afternoon swarmed the streets of Rusape and blocked the busy Mutare-Harare Road for nearly an hour as they sang revolutionary songs and protested against the annexation of their ancestral land by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works.
The protesters were led by Chief Makoni, Mr Colgan Simbayi Gwasira; his wife, Mrs Redempter Gwasira; headmen, village heads and several other clansmen.
Traffic was blocked as the protesters marched from Chief Makoni’s Court along Chingaira Street and went to Manda Avenue and then Chimurenga Street, which is part of the Mutare-Harare Highway.
The protestors stopped at the Total Service Station traffic lights, singing praises of their “kingdom”.
Chief Makoni and his wife sat on the tarmac as they were circled by the singing and gyrating clansmen.
Police tried to disperse them, but the crowd stood their ground, thereby bringing all traffic to a standstill along the busy highway.
The protesters also braved the heavy downpour that pounded Rusape as they marched back to the chief’s court.
They claimed the rains was a sign that the ancestors had heard their pleas.
The Manica Post understands that what sparked the demo is the publishing of a Government Gazette that showed that a huge chunk of Chief Makoni’s land was allocated to Chiefs Chiduku, Tandi, Chikore and Chipunza.
Last month, Chiefs Chiduku and Tandi allegedly began moving into Chief Makoni territory and installing headmen and village heads, much to the chagrin of the traditional leader.
In an interview, a bitter Chief Makoni said: “Three weeks ago a chief director in the Local Government ministry, Mr (Felix) Chikowo addressed rural district councils’ chief executive officers and said he had been sent by Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo to advise Makoni Rural District Council that the issue of boundaries had been settled. It was declared that he had given Chiefs Chiduku and Tandi our land.
“All the southern parts of Makoni, including those under substantive headmen Masvosva, Bvekerwa, Mupambawahle, Rukweza, Nyamombe and all resettlements such as Romsely and Nyamapembere, are said to have been allocated to the two chiefs.
“They have also took our scared mountains such as Chirimutsitu which the whites christened the Devils Pass after a lot of them perished during a war. They also took Mt Manda and the entire Rusape town.
“To the west, they gave it to Chief Tandi, the entire Headlands have been allocated to Chief Chipunza and North East has been allocated to Chief Chikore. This means about 90 percent of the Makoni territory has been allocated to other chiefs.
“We are now only left with Gandanzara, Chiendambuya north and Dowa. It is like South Africa losing its vast territory to countries like Swaziland and Lesotho, can you imagine that?
“This issue started in 2017, but we challenged the move and the Government Gazette was withdrawn. Now Minister Moyo has escalated the matter to another level and we approached him raising our objection, but he told us that our Makoni District belongs to the Rozvi Dynasty,” fumed Chief Makoni.
Although Minister Moyo was not reachable for comment, in a statement, the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works dismissed claims that the acting Chief Director, Mr Felix Chikowo recently addressed RDC CEOs over the said matter.
“It is on record that Chief Makoni took the Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Honourable July Moyo and all the other chiefs from Rusape, to the High Court appealing against a proclamation that was made in a Government Gazette that placed communities in Rusape resettlement under five Rusape chiefs after consultations as required by Section 29 of the Traditional Leaders’ Act.
“The matter was thrown out by the High Court and as a ministry, we thought that Chief Makoni, as a custodian of the law, knows the appeal process within the laws of the country, in this case an appeal to the Supreme Court if he was not happy with the High Court ruling, rather than engaging in an illegal demonstration,” reads the statement.
Secretary for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Mr Edgars Seenza, said: “Yes, I have heard of the demonstration and I have asked the Makoni District Development Coordinator to compile a detailed report that will be forwarded to the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works as that is the ministry that deals with chiefs. Minister Moyo will look into the matter.”
Zimbabwe Council of Chiefs, Manicaland Chapter chairman, Chief Makumbe said the demonstration was a sad development as there are proper and well structured channels to present grievances of this nature.
“We were surprised to hear that Chief Makoni resorted to a demonstration to air his grievances. He took us to court over the issue and a ruling was made. If he was not happy with the outcome, he knows the proper channels to follow. By demonstrating, he was doing so against who and to get what? Did he exhaust all the prescribed channels to have his grievances heard?
“We condemn such behaviour as it is uncultured. As traditional leaders, we should lead by example. It is unheard of for a traditional leader to lead his or subjects to revolt against the Government. Disputes should be solved using laid down procedures and not taking the law into our own hands.
“We should revisit the Traditional Leaders Act and incorporate the issue of disciplinary measures that will be meted on violators of the law and policies,” said Chief Makumbe.
