By Aldridge Dzvene | Positive Eye News | Domboshava
The echoes of traditional drums and ceremonial ululation were loud at Makumbe Visitation Mission in Domboshava, but louder still were the calls for accountability, cultural revival, and urgent development.
Following nearly a decade of leadership vacuum, the installation of Chief Chinamhora XVI, born Richard Jeyi, marked more than a symbolic return of traditional authority. It opened a new chapter in how Zimbabwean chiefs are being redefined, from custodians of culture to engines of grassroots transformation.
Presiding over the ceremony, Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Honourable Daniel Garwe, delivered a charged keynote that redirected the focus from ritual to responsibility.
“The era of sabhuku deals is over,” Minister Garwe declared. “You must shut down illegal land sales and work with government authorities. Land is our heritage, our economy, our survival. If we lose the land, we lose our people.”
The Minister’s words cut deep into a long-standing crisis in Domboshava, where land barons, headman-led parceling, and illegal sales have bred disorder, dispossession, and deep community distrust. He urged Chief Chinamhora to be uncompromising in uprooting this parallel land economy, which he said undermines not just the law, but the identity and dignity of the nation.
Garwe also raised concerns about the distortion of culture by newcomers from urban centers, some of whom, he warned, bring not only disrespect for tradition but also drug and substance abuse into rural communities.
“They bring drugs, they cut trees, they destroy our sacred land. Chief, your job is to protect culture, protect the land, and protect the future,” he emphasized.
In a powerful moment that blended environmental protection with economic transformation, the Minister called on the chiefdom to stop deforestation, preserve sacred groves, and simultaneously capitalize on land for agriculture and mining, two sectors he described as engines for local economic revival.
But the most impassioned segment of his speech came as he addressed the youth crisis. With rising levels of unemployment, idleness, and drug addiction, Garwe called for youth development grounded in Ubuntu, decolonial consciousness, and productive community engagement.
“Let us not produce boys without discipline and girls without purpose,” he said. “Let us raise leaders, not loiters.”
He encouraged traditional leaders to draw from the President’s servant leadership model and programs like Zunde Ramambo, calling on Chief Chinamhora to treat every community member as a son or daughter, regardless of background or class.
“You are not a ruler, you are a servant. That is what the President teaches. Lead with humility, justice, and ethics, and remain aligned with the Constitution of the land,” he added.
In response, Chief Chinamhora XVI thanked the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe for the opportunity to serve and pledged to uphold the Constitution, protect cultural values, and work toward a community that is peaceful, productive, and progressive.
His tone was deliberate and reformist.
“We’ve already begun addressing illegal land holding. Those who bought land and failed to develop it must vacate. This land must work for the people, not lie in speculation,” he told journalists after the installation.
He also committed to working closely with youth, churches, and government agencies to combat drug abuse through education, mentorship, and employment initiatives.
What sets Chief Chinamhora apart is his background, a holder of a Master’s in Project Management from the University of Zimbabwe, and a former construction director. That combination of academic and technical capacity has raised expectations within the community, who hope he will bring structured governance, data-backed development, and policy-based decision-making to the chieftaincy.
“This is a chance to prove that traditional leadership can be modern, relevant, and strategic,” said a local elder from Nzvere. “We want roads, clinics, jobs, and a leader who listens.”
The Chinamhora chieftainship, which rotates among the Chinamaringa, Chidziva, and Nzvere houses, has long been seen as one of the most influential in Goromonzi. Its proximity to Harare places it under pressure from urban sprawl, land baronism, and demographic change. That context makes the task before Chief Chinamhora XVI not only spiritual, but deeply political and developmental.
His success, or failure, may well become a case study in how Zimbabwe’s traditional leaders either rise with the times or retreat behind the veil of ceremony.
As the drums fade and villagers return to daily life, Chief Chinamhora XVI carries with him not just a crown, but a mandate. A mandate to fight corruption, defend the land, inspire the youth, and restore dignity to a community long suspended between tradition and transition.
In his hands lies not only legacy, but leadership with impact.
