Chitungwiza is an urban centre and

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of Harare Province in

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

History

As of the 2022 census, Chitungwiza had a population of 371,244. There are two main highways which connect the city to

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

namely Seke road and Chitungwiza road. The Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex, built in 1995 for the All Africa Games, is no longer functional, and serves as a music and church venue. Tonderai Kasu

Informal settlements

Following the civil war, people moved to urban areas. Chitungwiza grew rapidly and the

squatted Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

area of Chirambahuyo alone had a population of 30,000 in 1979. Chirambahuyo was demolished by the authorities in 1982 and the inhabitants squatted elsewhere in the city in areas such as Mayambara. Areas in Chitungwiza were destroyed by

Operation Murambatsvina Operation Murambatsvina (''Move the Rubbish''), also officially known as Operation Restore Order, was a large-scale Zimbabwean government campaign to forcibly clear slum areas across the country. The campaign started in 2005 and according to Unit ...

in 2005. By the mid-2010s, the number of people squatting in

informal settlements Informal housing or informal settlement can include any form of housing, shelter, or settlement (or lack thereof) which is illegal, falls outside of government control or regulation, or is not afforded protection by the state. As such, the inform ...

was growing. In 2020, the local authorities abandoned their plans to demolish squatter homes in Nyatsime, Seke, St Mary’s and Zengeza, after a court order was requested.

Notable people

The musician

Maskiri Maskiri, born Alishias Musimbe on 6 April 1982 is a Zimbabwean rapper. Early background He was born in Chitungwiza, a residential town about 25 km out of Harare, where he grew up and attended Chemhanza Secondary School until being expelle ...

comes from Chitungwiza. The Town Clerk in 2016 was Dr George Makunde, who complained that a reduction in his wage from $10,000 per month to $4,500 per month had put him in difficulties. In 2019 and 2020, Dr. Tonderai Kasu served as the Acting Town Clerk. Emmanuel Makandiwa and Alick Macheso are from Chitungwiza. Current Mayor: Lovemore Maiko

References

{{authority control Populated places in Harare Province Populated places established in 1978 1978 establishments in Africa Squats Squatting in Zimbabwe