By Beatific Gumbwanda
President Emmerson Mnangagwa recently appointed substantive traditional leaders for two chieftainships in Masvingo province, filling vacancies that have left the Bere chieftainship under acting leadership for five years following its historic restoration after 125 years of colonial banishment, while the Tshovani chieftainship has been without a substantive leader for four years since the death of Chief Hlaisi Mundau.
The appointments were made on February 7, 2026, with Petros Murombe Mahweshe taking over the Bere chieftainship and Victor Renias Chiromo assuming the Tshovani chieftainship in terms of Section 283 of the Constitution and the Traditional Leaders Act.
Masvingo acting District Development Coordinator (DDC) Joyce Chikugu confirmed in a statement seen by TellZim News that the President had appointed Mahweshe as substantive Chief Bere, formalising leadership of a clan whose chieftainship was abolished 125 years ago by the Rhodesian settler regime for resisting colonial occupation.
The Bere chieftainship, of the Shumba totem, stretches from Mashava to the west and Bhuka in the south-east, bordering Zimuto, Charumbira and Chivi chieftainships. The chieftainship was originally disbanded in 1925 by the colonial government to pave way for the Land Apportionment Act of 1930, which saw the seizure of Bere clan land for white commercial farming.
Following protests against the land grab, the Bere clan was split up by the settler government, with some relocating to Zaka, Gutu and Chirumhanzi, while others remained in Mashava.
The late Phineas Tafirei was installed as the first substantive Chief Bere in 2019 after President Mnangagwa resuscitated the chieftainship, ending nearly a century of vacancy.
However, his reign was brief. He died in 2021 at the age of 85 after a short illness, and following his death, his son Phineas Tafirei Junior has been serving as acting Chief Bere until Mahweshe’s appointment.
The resuscitation of the Bere chieftainship has not been without controversy. In 2018, before Tafirei’s installation, some aggrieved members of the Bere clan challenged the appointment process in court.
The chieftainship has also faced boundary disputes with neighboring Chiefs Zimuto and Charumbira, with tensions occasionally flaring at community gatherings like funerals.
In Chiredzi, Victor Renias Chiromo has been appointed substantive Chief Tshovani, filling a position that fell vacant following the death of Chief Hlaisi Mundau in July 2021.
Chiredzi District Development Coordinator Lovemore Chisema confirmed the appointment in a letter seen by TellZim News dated February 17, 2026
The chieftainship has experienced a turbulent succession period since Mundau’s death. His eldest son, Felix, served as acting chief before his own death in 2023, after which Eddmore Mundau acted until Chiromo’s appointment.
The Tshovani chieftainship had previously been at the centre of traditional leadership disputes in Chiredzi. In 2019, the area saw tensions when government revived the Neromwe chieftainship in wards that previously fell under Chief Tshovani’s jurisdiction, leading to court challenges.
