HERE has been heightened interest in the Mangwende chieftainship in Murewa district, and some have written in the media about it.
The Mangwende people respect the writers’ freedom of expression.
However, we have seen some statements and insinuations that, in our opinion, are out of line with the truth.
This Press statement outlines the facts so that stakeholders know the truth.
About Mangwende chieftainship
The Mangwende chieftainship is a 500-year dynasty with a recorded history dating back to the 16th century.
Traditionally, the Mangwende chieftainship has been a paramount chieftaincy that managed the welfare, security and civil order in its territory and militarily assisted neighbouring chieftainships when requested.
The Mangwende people played a significant role in the First and Second Chimurengas.
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The roles played by Mangwende chiefs during these periods cannot be underestimated.
The history of the Mangwende chieftainship is well recorded, with substantial archival material publicly available at the National Archives and on the internet.
History cannot be rewritten as certain groups of people are attempting to do, with some fraudulently trying to link their family trees to the Mangwende Dynasty.
Examples are the imaginary stories of resuscitation and creation of fictitious chieftainships that never existed in Murewa district.
Succession system
Around 1656, Chief Gatsi Mangwende established a collateral succession system alternating between the two royal houses of Chitopi and Bokoto.
This system began with Gatsi being succeeded by his younger brother Mungate.
The system became customary and is being applied up to today.
Gatsi introduced a system of governance through sub-chiefs (machinda) and today the Mangwende chieftainship applies a well-structured governance system of one chief supported by five headmen, 336 village heads and village traditional structures.
Therefore, the Mangwende chieftainship has been run smoothly for five centuries and its efficient system of collateral succession has been exceptionally successful and there have never been disagreements between the two royal houses.
Governance system
In 2014, the Nhowe clan formed a chief’s advisory body called the Mangwende Chieftainship Steering Committee and selected committee members from the two royal houses.
This shows that the Mangwende chieftainship is continually making proactive efforts to improve governance.
We are a well-structured chieftainship which can make decisions wherever and whenever it wishes, to improve administrative capacity, whether under one, two, three, five or more chiefs appointed from within the Mangwende clan, including any traditional structures it deems appropriate.
How and when to do this should be left to the Mangwende clan to decide.
Anyone referring to a properly-constituted traditional structure as a parallel structure does not understand how traditional structures work in Murewa district.
There is no evidence of corruption within the Mangwende chieftainship contrary to malicious allegations made by sources seeking space to invade a well-structured chieftainship.
According to our tradition, it is not all cases that need the chief’s attention as the clan is a united paramount chieftainship that values delegation of authority and decision-making based on trust.
The Mangwende chieftainship operates under a system that mirrors the national Judicial Service Commission system, where cases are dealt with by lower courts proceeding to the High Court then to the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court.
Warning to claimants
We would like to mention that the Mangwende clan is not a claimant of a chieftainship in Murewa because we cannot claim our own chieftainship.
Mangwende chieftainship is the only chieftainship that existed in Nhowe State, now Murewa district, at the time the British colonised Zimbabwe in 1890 and no other chieftainships existed in Murewa since 1606.
We want to emphatically state that there are no chieftainships to resuscitate in Murewa as they were none before.
Those who are claiming chieftainships are fraudsters and imposters, and the Mangwende clan will not entertain any chieftainship claims by fraudsters.
We warn the so-called claimants of chieftainships that never existed in the Mangwende Kingdom that they will be dragged before Chief Mangwende’s court to answer to the charge of misleading the public about their fictitious and misleading intentions and statements.
The claimants will be asked to justify their unsubstantiated claims of prior existence of their chieftainships under Chief Mangwende’s territorial jurisdiction.
From 2014, the Mangwende clan has been dealing with unwarranted claims of chieftainships in Murewa district distracting us from concentrating on district developmental matters.
We have wasted 11 years attending to this unwarranted interference by families who dream one day having a chieftainship within an existing and well-established chieftainship.
We wish to put it on record that Murewa district is under Chief Mangwende’s jurisdiction, and the Government of Zimbabwe returned Macheke Resettlement area to Chief Mangwende through Gazette No. 67 under General Notice 591 of 2011 titled Description of the Resettlement Area under Chief Mangwende, Murewa District in Mashonaland East Province.
There is no land available in Murewa district for the creation and resuscitation of fictitious chieftainships.
Collaboration
The Mangwende clan collaborates well with all arms of the Government of Zimbabwe to improve governance and administrative systems.
Everything that needs to be done will be achieved through collaboration withgGovernment support in terms of the Traditional Leaders Act [Chapter 29:17] and the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
All matters to do with traditional affairs in Murewa District will be led by Mangwende Traditional leadership and working with relevant arms of the Government of Zimbabwe.
Any person or group of persons who wish to know more about the Mangwende Chieftainship and how it operates, please feel welcomed to contact Chief Mangwende on telephone number +263 77 238 5637 or the chairman of the Mangwende Chieftainship Steering Committee on telephone number +263 77 257 2674 or the secretary of the Mangwende Chieftainship Steering Committee on telephone number +263 77 422 2145.
