Rusape is a town 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 ...

Location

It is located in

Makoni District Makoni District is a district in Zimbabwe. The name also refers to a parliamentary constituency with coterminous borders. Location The district is located in Manicaland Province, in northeastern Zimbabwe. Its main town, Rusape, with an estimate ...

in Manicaland Province, in northeastern

. It lies approximately , by road, southeast of Harare, the capital and the largest city in Zimbabwe. Rusape is situated on the main road (Highway A-3), between

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 ...

and

Mutare Mutare (formerly Umtali) is the most populous city in the province of Manicaland, and the third most populous city in Zimbabwe, having surpassed Gweru in the 2012 census, with an urban population of 224,802 and approximately 260,567 in the surr ...

, approximately , further southeast of Rusape. Rusape sits at an altitude of , above sea level.

Overview

Rusape is a large, sprawling town that has not quite reached city status. As is typical of Zimbabwean towns, Rusape has areas of low and high density population. The main high density area close to the town is ''Vengere'' township. Other suburbs have also been built since Independence in 1980. ''Mabvazuva'' to the east of town, and

Tsanzaguru Tsanzaguru (formerly Sanzaguru) is a township, commuter zone, in the province of Manicaland, Zimbabwe located 10 km south of Rusape in the Makoni West constituency. It is situated by the riverside overlying the Rusape Dam. Named after the kop ...

further out by the lakeside. Mabvazuva literally translates to "where the sun rises" (the East). There is also a new fast growing medium density suburb far east sprawling into the farmlands which is called ''Magamba Township''.

is home to much of Rusape's golden history. The name Tsanzaguru is derived from the Rozvi meaning of a big, rocky and tall hill from which the Rozvi were known to have wanted to build to the

moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

from there. They are said to have wanted to bring the moon to the King's Zunde Ramambo as a gift. It is from this background that all Chiefs countrywide have their badges designed in a circular form resembling the circular dream moon that the Rozvi wanted to bring their King. Typically noticeable in the surrounding region are the kopjes,

msasa ''Brachystegia spiciformis'', commonly known as zebrawood, or msasa, is a medium-sized African tree having compound leaves and racemes of small fragrant green flowers. The tree is broad and has a distinctive amber and wine red colour when the y ...

trees, occasional tobacco farms and the sometimes densely crowded rural resettlement villages. Rusape's main piped water supply is from the purpose-built

Rusape Dam Rusape Dam is an in-land man-made water body in the outskirts of Rusape adjacent to Tsanzaguru, Zimbabwe, specifically built as a reservoir lake for irrigation in the usually dry southeastern part of Zimbabwe and water supply for the town of Rusape ...

, which was built on the

Rusape River Rusape River is a long inland water river stretching from the almost evergreen Nyanga regions to Save river. It is known to be usually flooded during summer and has numerous myth stories associated with it. Rusape river is the major feeding riv ...

. The river runs in a northwest to southeast direction on the town outskirts. It is such a big river that the dam was planned with the eastern lowveld sugar-growing areas in mind. Ideally, Rusape dam was to be a reservoir for irrigation in areas deep down around Triangle and Chiredzi since it pours out into the Save River to the semi-arid regions.

History

''Rusape'' was derived from ''rusapwe'' which means "may it never dry", with reference to the ever-flowing waters of the Rusape River, adjacent to the town. Because there are no other perennial streams in its vicinity, it would be a disaster if the river dried. The settlement began in 1894 with the establishment of a

British South Africa Company The British South Africa Company (BSAC or BSACo) was chartered in 1889 following the amalgamation of Cecil Rhodes' Central Search Association and the London-based Exploring Company Ltd, which had originally competed to capitalize on the expect ...

post on the Rusape River. A village grew around the post and, during the First Chimurenga in 1896, the village was attacked by Chief Mangwende. At ''Gwindingwi'', during the early days, Chief Chingaira Makoni was beheaded by the British in front of his subjects after his death by firing squad and his head taken to England.

Climate

Population

The town of Rusape has expanded southward, to include the high density area of ''Vengere'' and northward to include the low density development known as ''Silverbow''. According to the 1982 Population Census, the town had a population of 8,216. This rose to 13,920 in 1992. In 2004, the population of Rusape was estimated at 29,292. The National Population Census of 2012 in

recorded a population of 30,316 for the town on 17 Augustus 2012. Former Zimbabwean

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

Kevin Curran Kevin Curran may refer to: * Kevin Curran (cricketer) (1959–2012), Zimbabwean cricketer * Kevin Curran (cricketer, born 1928) (1928–2017), Zimbabwean cricketer * Kevin Curran (footballer, born 1919) (1919–1986), Australian rules footballer fo ...

hails from Rusape.

Education

The list of schools in Rusape include the following: ; Primary Schools * Mount Carmel Primary School
John Cowie Primary School
* St Joseph's Primary School * Tsanzaguru Primary School * Vengere Primary School * Rujeko Primary School
Highveld Primary School
* Mabvazuva Primary School * Manda Primary School * Madzingidzi Primary School * Yorkshere Primary School * St David's Gunda Primary School ; Secondary/High Schools * Vengere High School * St Joseph's Secondary School * Tsanzaguru Secondary School * Tsindi Secondary School
St Faith's High School
* Kriste Mambo High School * St. Killians High School * Nyakuipa Secondary School ; Colleges * Destiny College * Watermark College * Three Hills College * Vision College * Ashanti Dzaro

Religion

The number of churches in Rusape indicates the importance of religion in the community. Christianity appears to be the dominant religion, but African religions persist in and through various Christian denominations. Christianity and indigenous religions have influenced each other from the time missionaries first arrived in Rusape in the early 1900s. Anglican Canon, Edgar Lloyd, presided over St Faiths Mission, from Rusape, from 1903 to 1936.

Places of worship

Christian

Apostolic Faith Mission Church
– Nyanga Road
Celebration Church
– Nyanga Road
Dutch Reformed Church
– Nyanga Road
Emmaus Zimbabwe
(Catholic) – Unknown
Grace Fellowship Church
– Nyanga Drive
One Church
- Magamba Extension
Rusape Community Church
(Methodist) – Chingaira Street
See End Time Message
– Mabvazuva Road * Seventh Day Adventist Church – Rusape (Castle Base Road); Vengere; Dana
St Bartholomew Anglican Church
(Anglican)– Chimoio Avenue * St Johns Rusape United Methodist Church - Vengere
St Simon Stock
(Catholic)– Nyabadza Avenue
Watchtower Kingdom Hall
– Castle Base Road

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Rusape Hindu Hall
– Nyanga Road

Jewish

Jews of Rusape The Jews of Rusape, Zimbabwe are a group of people who practice a religion similar to Judaism. Their observance of Judaism is generally in accordance with that of mainstream Judaism practiced in other countries with the exception of a few key aspec ...

* Temple of Beth El of the Church of God and the Saints of God - unknown

Muslim

Mosque
– Vengere Road THE GOSPEL OF GOD CHURCH Is located in the Gandanzara area near Dziruni shops on a hilltop called Dandadzi, the church was founded by Johane Masowe And was established in 1932.

References

{{authority control Makoni District Populated places in Manicaland Province