By A Correspondent| In a move that has left many residents stunned, a traditional leader in Murehwa has filed a court application to stop the conversion of an abandoned farmhouse into a clinic, arguing that the building is being used as his community court.
Chief Mangwende, born Morgan Gatsi, approached the Murehwa Magistrates Court on June 11 seeking an interdict against the government’s efforts to establish a rural health facility at Hilton Farm. His objection? That the same farmhouse—unoccupied for years—is where he holds village court sessions.
The chief’s resistance comes despite overwhelming support for the clinic from local councillors, government officials, and villagers desperate for access to healthcare. Communities in Murehwa South currently walk over 20 kilometres to reach the nearest clinic.
While acknowledging the need for improved health services, Chief Mangwende insisted the farmhouse was vital for dispensing traditional justice.
“Much as I support the respondents’ effort to open a clinic in the area, I disagree that it should be based in the building at Hilton Farm since a community court is already established there,” he stated in his court submissions.
However, critics argue that the chief’s stance borders on pettiness, placing personal prestige and traditional authority above the pressing health needs of thousands. The farmhouse in question had remained idle and neglected for years before it was identified as a potential health post to ease pressure on Virginia and Waterloo clinics.
“This is a glaring case of misplaced priorities,” said a health worker in Murehwa who requested anonymity. “A single room used once or twice a week for a village court is being valued more than a clinic that could save lives every single day.”
The government’s initiative aimed to serve multiple farming and resettlement areas including Chilinda, Glenwaves, Pagomba, Langjam Konine, Dontlestone, Kasipiti, and River Baller—communities that have long suffered from the lack of nearby healthcare services.
Chief Mangwende’s legal action has drawn the ire of many residents, some of whom accused him of sabotaging development.
“He wants people to keep walking 20km just so he can hold court in an empty house?” one irate villager asked. “We need doctors and nurses, not fines and punishments.”
The chief cited the Ministries of Local Government and Lands, Murehwa South MP Noah Mangondo, Zanu PF Murehwa DCC chairperson Israel Maliki, area councillor Wellington Hodzi, and a local development activist George Dzemwa as respondents in his court case.
Hilton Farm was subdivided into 53 plots during the land reform programme in the early 2000s. With the rapid growth of surrounding communities, the need for accessible healthcare has become urgent.
As the case awaits determination in court, locals continue to hope that common sense and public interest will prevail over territorial pride.