Aeneas Chigwedere

Service/Career

For about three decades starting in 1965, his professional roles extended from Teacher to Headmaster (of Marondera High School) to Regional Director in the Zimbabwean education system.^[4] In 1995 he became a member of the Parliament, as the Hwedza District Member of Parliament. In 2001, Chigwedere was appointed as Zimbabwe’s Minister of Education, Sport and Culture During the Government of National Unity era between 2008 and 2013, Chigwedere was the provincial governor for Mashonaland East Province. In 2014, Chigwedere was appointed an interim chairperson of the Zanu-PF Mashonaland East Province party after the ouster of Ray Kaukonde on allegations of factionalism. Chigwedere then received a vote of no confidence in April 2014 from the provincial executive. He was accused of sabotaging the then Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa's rally which had not attracted the anticipated turnout.^[5] His suspension was eventually declared null and void by the then Zanu-PF political commissar Saviour Kasukuwere.

In the 2000 Elections, (see A History of Zimbabwean Elections) Hwedza returned to Parliament:

• Aeneas Chigwedere of Zanu PF with 18 044 votes,
• Pearson Tachiveyi of MDC with 6 049 votes,
• Catherine Kafunda of UP with 351 votes,
• Wilson Muzondo, Independent, with 161 votes.

Events

School Uniform Controversy

In 2002 Chigwedere suggested that all schools in Zimbabwe should wear a similar uniform as part of the national identity. He was then the minister of education and his remarks attracted criticism from both the general public and other government officials. It was also during his tenure as minister of education when the hot- seating programme in most urban schools was introduced.

As a Historian

Chigwedere was one of the historians to emerge in Zimbabwe. He was known for his interest in the history of the Mutapa State, the [Rozvi State|Rozvi Empire], as well as dynastic and family history of Shona people who resided on the pre-colonial Zimbabwean plateau. Chigwedere had a special bias on pre-colonial histories. For this reason, he was regarded in some circles as the "authority" in Zimbabwean history. He regularly featured on history shows on Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation television channel on a programme called Madzinza eZimbabwe in the early 2000s. Chigwedere became known for his eloquence in spelling out the histories of various Zimbabwean clans citing the respective totems in a classic poetic fashion. However, among mainstream academics, Chigwedere was viewed as an academic outcast. He was criticised by scholars from the department of history at the University of Zimbabwe such as David Beach and Terence Ranger for reportedly flawed theories. At one point in time, he attracted attention when he quoted a spirit medium in his academic presentation.

Headmanship

In 2012, Chigwedere was appointed headman Mubaiwa after the death of substantive headman Mumbaiwa under Chief Svosve in the Hwedza area of Mashonalanand East Province.^[6] Chigwedere had been in a fight for headmanship with Hwedza villager and relative Raines Chadoka. Chigwedere was appointed on the 11th of July 2012 after a High Court ruling. To prove that he was the bona fide headman, Chigwedere produced documentary evidence obtained from the National Archives of Zimbabwe which showed that the headmanship alternated between the Chipango and Munzverengi families.^[7]

Books

Chigwedere has written up to 10 books and a number of books that are used in Zimbabwean schools up to today. His books include:

1. The Moyo Chirandu dynasty
2. Chimurenga II episodes: the hunt for Joshua Nkomo - Volume 1
3. British betrayal of the Africans: land, cattle, human
4. The abandoned adolescents
5. The forgotten heroes of Chimurenga I: the archives speak
6. Lobola: The Pros and Cons
7. Birth of Bantu Africa
8. The roots of the Bantu
9. The Karanga Empire
10. From Mutapa to Rhodes, 1000 to 1890 A.D.

Further Reading

References