THE Mbari Clan, which claims historical jurisdiction over Harare and its surrounding areas, has written to government and the Zimbabwe Chiefs' Council seeking urgent consultations to begin a process that will lead to the resuscitation of their chieftaincy.
The letters, shared with NewZimbabwe.com by 'Princess' Eugene Majuru, a descendant of Paramount Chief Mbari, blame Harare and the country's socio-economic woes on what she describes as cultural injustice.
"For 45 years after independence, the Chiefs' Council has remained silent on the most glaring cultural and spiritual injustice in our nation: the absence of the Mbari chieftaincy in Harare," reads one of the letters.
"While Harare was commercialised under colonial rule, that did not erase the fact that the land remains under the spiritual guardianship of the Mbari clan.
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"By ignoring this reality, the Council has allowed a royal family to remain displaced, scattered across the country, unable to perform their own traditional ceremonies on their ancestral land.
"This is not only an injustice to the Mbari people but also a failure to uphold the very traditions and cultural foundations that the Chiefs' Council was created to protect."
Although some parts of Harare are claimed by Chief Seke, no traditional leader has jurisdiction over the capital city.
The Hwata and Chiweshe dynasties historically claimed ownership of some parts of the land under a confederacy that was headed by Chief Seke with its capital at Barapata Hill, present-day Mufakose (suburb of Harare).
According to some historical sources, Chief Mbari's territory covered areas south of present-day Harare up to Chief Seke's Manyame river, Chishawasha to the east, which fell under Chief Chinhamora, Zvimba up to Mkwadzi river and to Concession in the north.
Founded as an administrative station for British colonists, traditional leaders under whose authority Harare fell were displaced or completely removed.
Added Majuru: "The Mbari clan demands an immediate and transparent explanation as to why the Chiefs' Council has failed to address this issue. We further call for urgent consultations with the Mbari clan and spirit mediums to begin the process of resuscitating the Harare chieftaincy."
