Mayor of Mutare

Mayor of Mutare
Incumbent
Simon Chabuka
since 28 November 2023
StyleHis Worship
Inaugural holderG. F. Dawson
Formation1914; 110 years ago (1914)
WebsiteOfficial webpage

The Mayor of Mutare is the executive of the government of Mutare, Zimbabwe (known as Umtali until 1983). The Mayor is a member of the Mutare City Council, and is assisted by a deputy mayor. The Mayor uses the style "His Worship".[1] The current mayor is Simon Chabuka.[2]

History

The Town of Umtali became a municipality, in the form of a town, on 11 June 1914.[3] Its first mayor, elected in August 1914, was G. F. Dawson. The mayor and new municipal council replaced the Sanitary Board which had previously governed the settlement.[3]

In 1980, following Zimbabwe's independence, Davidson Jahwi was elected the first black Mayor of Umtali.[1]

Umtali's name was changed to Mutare in 1983.

In 2005, Mayor Misheck Kagurabadza (MDC–T) was suspended from his position by the Minister of Local Government, Ignatius Chombo.[4] Mutare, along with other major cities that had seen their democratically elected MDC–T mayors suspended, was governed by a ZANU–PF-dominated special commission until 2008.[4]

In 2008, Brian James, a white MDC–T member, was elected mayor.[5] He was suspended and then fired in 2008 by Ignatius Chombo, who accused James of mismanagement, misconduct, and insubordination.[6] However, the firing was, in reality, thought to be politically motivated.[6]

List of mayors

The following is a list of past mayors of Mutare (previously known as Umtali until 1983).

Mayor Term start Term end   Party Ref.
G. F. Dawson 1914 1916 [1]
W. J. Hosgood 1916 1917 [1]
G. F. Dawson 1917 1918 [1]
Charles Eickhoff 1918 1920 RGA [1]
Jack Meikle 1920 1921 [1]
W. J. McIntosh 1921 1922 [1]
Jack Meikle 1922 1923 [1]
W. Stevens 1923 1925 [1]
J. H. Jeffreys 1925 1926 [1]
Frederick J. Taylor 1926 1927 [1]
W. J. McIntosh 1927 1928 [1]
L. Miller 1928 1929 [1]
Oswald Trevor Baker 1929 1932 Rhodesia Party [1]
JT Woods 1932 1934 [1]
Alfred Bain 1934 1938 [1]
George Washington Chace 1938 1941 Liberal Party [1]
W. R. Love 1941 1942 [1]
Edward King Evans 1942 1945 [1]
Demetrius Catsicas 1945 1948 [1]
R. T. Perkins 1948 1949 [1]
Saxon W. Wood 1949 1952 [1]
Harry Went 1952 1953 [1]
Johannes Mattheus Wessels 1953 1955 [1]
Norman Innes 1955 1957 [1]
Demetrius Catsicas 1957 1958 [1]
George Robert Leach 1958 1959 [1]
Jack Mussett 1959 1961 [1]
Leslie Herbert Morris 1961 1964 United Federal Party [1]
James W. MacGregor 1964 1966 [1]
W. W. S. Smart 1966 1968 [1]
James Somerville Murray 1968 1969 [1]
John Constantinos Kircos 1969 1972 [1]
Douglas G. Reed 1972 1975 [1]
John Charles Burke August 1975 August 1977 [1][7]
Douglas G. Reed 1977 1978 [1]
Max Phillips 1978 1980 [1][8]
Davidson Jahwi November 1980 24 January 1984 ZANU–PF [1][9][10]
Enock Msabaeka 1984 1991
Lawrence Mudehwe October 1990 August 2003 ZANU–PF (before 1995) [11]
Independent (1995–1999)
MDC–T (after 1999)
Misheck Kagurabadza 2003 23 July 2005 MDC–T [12]
Mayor suspended; Mutare administered by a special commission[13]
Brian James 2008 April 2013 MDC–T [5][6]
Tatenda Nhamarare September 2013 September 2018 MDC–T [14]
Blessing Tandi 6 September 2018 11 February 2022 MDC Alliance [15][16][17]
Simon Chabuka 17 February 2022 August 2023 CCC [16][17][2]
Sophia Rudo Gwasira 11 September 2023 9 November 2023 CCC [18][19]
Simon Chabuka 28 November 2023 CCC [2]

Deputy mayors

Notable former deputy mayors

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am Minute of His Worship the Mayor. Umtali: City of Umtali. 1980. p. 5.
  2. ^ a b c Muleya, Martin (2 December 2023). "Chabuka bounces back as Mutare Mayor". Chipinge Times. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b Shoebridge, Clyde L. (December 1969). "The Umtali Tramways Limited" (PDF). Rhodesiana. 21: 7.
  4. ^ a b Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2007. Government Printing Office. 2008. p. 642. ISBN 9780160813993.
  5. ^ a b Rogers, Douglas (14 April 2010). "Zimbabwe's Accidental Triumph". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  6. ^ a b c Sibanda, Tichaona (20 April 2013). "Suspended Mutare Mayor Brian James speaks out on dismissal". SW Radio Africa. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  7. ^ Minute of His Worship the Mayor. Umtali: City of Umtali. 1978. p. 11.
  8. ^ Thatcher, Gary (15 January 1980). "Rhodesia city skeptical as border opens". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  9. ^ Cleary, Frederick (4 December 1980). "Black rule comes to town councils". The Herald. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  10. ^ Meldrum, Andrew (25 January 1984). "Council tumbles to Zanu radical". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  11. ^ Olukoshi, Adebayo O. (1998). The Politics of Opposition in Contemporary Africa. Nordic Africa Institute. p. 105. ISBN 9789171064196.
  12. ^ "Zim suspends MDC mayor". News24. 30 December 2005. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  13. ^ "Mayor suspended in clean-up retribution drive". ZimOnline. 23 July 2005. Retrieved 22 December 2023 – via ReliefWeb Mobile.
  14. ^ Chiketo, Bernard (17 September 2013). "Nhamarare elected Mutare mayor". DailyNews Live. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  15. ^ Nyangani, Kenneth (8 September 2018). "New councillors warned against taking politics into chambers". NewsDay. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  16. ^ a b Nyangani, Kenneth (18 February 2022). "Councillor faints after losing mayoral election". NewsDay. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  17. ^ a b "NEW: Chabuka elected Mutare's new mayor". The Manica Post. 17 February 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  18. ^ Shamu, Brent; Makosi, Ropafadzo; Moyo, Nizbert (12 September 2023). "Mutare elects Zim's second female mayor... as Makone, Coltart land Hre, Byo posts". NewsDay. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  19. ^ "Tshabangu Recalls Over 50 More CCC Councillors". The Zimbabwean. 9 November 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.