Headman dragged to court for blocking villagers from conducting church service after they refused to pay US$25 each for rain-making ceremony

In Honde Valley, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) got a traditional leader’s archaic practice of coercing some villagers under his jurisdiction to pay money for hosting of a traditional rain-making ceremony, against their religious beliefs, vetoed by Mutasa Magistrate Artwell Sanyatwe.

Tonderayi Mandeya, the Headman for Hamudikuvanda A village in Honde Valley in Mutasa District in Manicaland province, had in September 2021 purportedly banned some villagers, who are devout members of Apostolic Faith Church also known as Mugodhi Church, from exercising their faith at their shrine.

This is after they refused to pay US$25 each per household, which sum was meant to fund a traditional rain-making ceremony also known as Mukwerera in Shona.

The villagers, who practice the religion of Christianity & only believe that the only way to ask for rains is to communicate to God & do not subscribe to the practises of the African traditional religion, had refused to comply with Headman Mandeya’s demand.

The Honde Valley villagers, who were aggrieved by Headman Mandeya’s conduct, then engaged

Kelvin Vada of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) who on 21 March 2022, filed an application at Mutasa Magistrates Court seeking an order to stop the traditional leader from coercing them to pay any sums of money for the purposes of holding a traditional rain-making ceremony & not to bar them from practising, propagating & expressing their religion at a church site known as Casa Banana.

In the application, the villagers argued that coercing them to pay US$25 for a traditional rain-making ceremony, is contrary to their religious beliefs & violates the fundamental right to freedom of religion guaranteed under section 60(1)(a) & (b) of the Constitution.

The villagers also argued that Headman Mandeya has no such powers to limit their rights & freedoms as he purported to arrogate to himself.

In response, Mutasa Magistrate Sanyatwe recently ordered Headman Mandeya to stop barring the villagers from practising, propagating & expressing their religion at their Casa Banana church site.

Magistrate Sanyatwe also interdicted Headman Mandeya from coercing the Apostolic Faith Church members to pay any sums of money for purposes of traditional rain-making ceremonies as a pre-condition for exercising their faith.

Zwnews