-as Nemamwa chieftainship dispute rages on
SYDNEY MUBAIWA
MASVINGO- There seems to be no end in sight to the newly created Nemamwa chieftainship dispute as the Matambo house has taken it further by petitioning the head of state to intervene.
The Matambo house is one of the claimants to the throne and they have been to the courts since the resuscitation of the Nemamwa chieftainship claiming that the selection process that led to the late Tranos Manjiva being installed Chief was fraught with irregularities.
The Matambo house who claim to be the rightful heir to the Nemamwa chieftainship have written a letter to President Mnangagwa seeking his intervention to stop Masvingo State Minister, Ezra Chadzamira from interfering in their cultural affairs.
The claimants in the letter, which is in possession of The Midweek Watch accused Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Ezra Chadzamira of dangling in the Nemamwa chieftainship wrangle.
Chadzamira could not be reached for a comment as his mobile phone went unanswered several times. However, Provincial Chiefs Council Chairperson Chief Chitanga born Feleni Chauke said he was not aware of the letter of complaint.
“Yes I am aware that there are issues to do with the Nemamwa chieftainship. The issue is before the courts, however, I am not aware about the letter of complaint against Minister Chadzamira’s interference in the chieftainship wrangle,” said Chief Chitanga.
He added that currently there is no acting chief as that has to be done through the district development coordinator and with the ongoing legal wrangles it may be difficult for that to happen now.
The development also comes after Justice Munangati Munongwa on 5 March this year gave Jimmy Matambo victory against Tranos Manjiva who later died barely two weeks after he was dethroned.
“We the Nemamwa people are extremely concerned with the intervention by the Resident Minister of Masvingo Province, Ezra Chadzamira in our cultural affairs of the Nemamwa people.
“The death of Tranos Manjiva on the 14th of March, 2025 barely two weeks after the High Court nullified Tranos Manjiva as Nemamwa Chief has led to a lot of bickering with the Nemamwa clan with some openly boasting that Minister Chadzamira is their godfather when it comes to Nemamwa chieftainship,” reads part of the letter.
The claimants argued that, Chadzamira has already made his mind on who should be Nemamwa’s next chief, a development which made Justice Munangati to dethrone Tranos Manjiva.
They also said Chadzamira abused his office by instructing a son to Tranos Manjiva, Fungai Manjiva to further bypass their traditional family norms.
“Chadzamira abused his office by instructing a son to Tranos Manjiva, Fungai Manjiva to bypass traditional norms, such as informing elders of the death of a family member, to let the elders to decide burial programme…
“Is it the duty of a Minister to interfere with our tradition just because of his office. We understand that the constitution is clear on this one, selection of a Chief must be done by the families concerned and guided by their tradition, customs and practices.
“Why then is Minister Chadzamira abusing his office to disregard the dictates of the Supreme Laws of this country.
“Now we heard that Minister Chadzamira had promised to announce Fungai Manjiva’s appointment as Sarapavana (acting chief). It is not the duty of the Resident Minister to announce the appointment of a acting chief but it is the clan’s responsibility based on cultural practices and norms.
“It is our prayer that you stop Chadzamira from interfering in our traditional practices,” further reads the letter.
The Nemamwa chieftainship was revived in 2022 by President Mnangagwa and Tranos Manjiva was installed as chief but was challenged by Jimmy Matambo who claimed to be the rightful heir to the throne.
In 2023 a consent order was granted where both parties agreed that the appointment of Manjiva must be nullified, but he continued to act in bad faith by calling himself Chief Nemamwa.
The Manjiva camp approached the court in 2024 and mysteriously got a default judgment restoring him as Chief Nemamwa.
Matambo appealed against the default judgment, which was granted last month in his favour effectively dethroning Manjiva from the seat and paving the way the Masvingo Provincial Chiefs council to appoint an acting chief or substantive one through the normal procedure.
Masvingo District Development Coordinator, Roy Hove also confirmed that the selection of an acting chief for Nemamwa is yet to be done.
“The houses concerned have to have to do the selection and then forward the name to us, but they have not done so yet,” said Hove.
