‘Pay’ For The Rains – Village Head
A headman in Mutasa district, Manicaland allegedly forced villagers to contribute $25 per homestead towards a traditional rain-making ceremony.
The demand for money for the ceremony known as mukwerera in Shona came to light in court where Mutasa magistrate Artwell Sanyatwe issued a ruling interdicting headman Tonderayi Mandeya of Haudikuvanda A village from forcing villagers to fund the rain-making ceremony.
Through their lawyers from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), the villagers filed an application at Mutasa Magistrates Court in March this year challenging headman Mandeya. In the application, the villagers argued that forcing them to pay US$25 for a traditional rain-making ceremony was contrary to their religious beliefs and violated their fundamental right to freedom of religion.
In September 2021, Mandeya banned some villagers, who are members of the Apostolic Faith Church, a white garment sect from exercising their faith at their shrine after they refused to pay any money for the traditional ceremony.
Magistrate Sanyatwe ruled in the villagers' favor ordering Mandeya to stop barring the villagers from practicing, propagating, and expressing their religion at their Casa Banana church site. Sanyatwe also interdicted Mandeya from demanding money from villagers for rain-making ceremonies.
It has become the norm for village heads and community leaders sometimes working with the ZANU PF leadership to take advantage of national holidays and community events to demand money from villagers. At national holidays like Independence, Heroes, and traditional ceremonies like mukwerera, etc local leaders demand contributions from villagers. The contributions are never accounted for as there is no transparency or accountability.
