MASVINGO
–
The
High
Court
has
interdicted
a
Masvingo
traditional
chief
from
interfering
with
the
operations
of
a
newly
established
private
school
after
finding
that
his
actions
amounted
to
unlawful
self-help
rather
than
the
lawful
exercise
of
traditional
authority.
Justice
Josephine
Zisengwe
of
the
Masvingo
High
Court
granted
an
urgent
interim
interdict
barring
Chief
Murinye,
real
name
Ephias
Munodawafa,
from
blocking
access
to
Riverton
Academy
Extension,
a
private
school
located
in
the
Murinye
and
Machingura
villages,
following
a
dramatic
standoff
at
the
start
of
the
January
2026
school
term.
The
court
heard
that
on
January
11,
Munodawafa
physically
blocked
the
road
leading
to
the
school
with
his
vehicle,
preventing
parents
from
dropping
off
children
who
had
already
been
enrolled.
The
chief
allegedly
threatened
to
unleash
snakes
on
the
school
premises
to
stop
lessons
from
commencing.
The
school’s
owner,
Philimon
Mutangiri,
approached
the
High
Court
on
an
urgent
basis
seeking
protection
from
what
he
described
as
vigilante-style
conduct
by
the
chief.
In
opposing
the
application,
Munodawafa
argued
that
the
school
had
been
constructed
on
communal
land
without
his
authority,
without
approval
from
Masvingo
Rural
District
Council,
and
without
compliance
with
statutory
requirements
including
an
environmental
impact
assessment.
He
maintained
that,
as
chief,
he
was
empowered
under
the
Traditional
Leaders
Act
to
prevent
unauthorised
settlement
on
communal
land.
Justice
Zisengwe
rejected
that
argument,
holding
that
while
chiefs
wield
significant
administrative
and
judicial
authority,
they
are
not
above
the
law.
“At
its
most
basic
form
the
principle
of
the
rule
of
law
propounds
that
everyone,
including
the
government,
is
accountable
to
publicly
available
and
equally
enforced
laws
that
are
independently
judged,”
the
judge
said.
She
ruled
that
Munodawafa
could
not
“arrogate
unto
himself
the
role
of
complainant,
judge,
jury
and
executioner
in
his
own
case,”
adding
that
even
if
he
believed
the
school
was
unlawfully
established,
the
law
provided
formal
mechanisms
for
enforcement.
“The
provisions
relied
upon
do
not
necessarily
permit
taking
matters
into
one’s
own
hands,”
Zisengwe
said,
noting
that
customary
court
judgments
must
be
enforced
through
procedures
set
out
in
the
Customary
Law
and
Local
Courts
Act,
not
by
physical
obstruction.
The
judge
dismissed
a
series
of
preliminary
objections
raised
by
the
chief,
including
claims
that
the
application
was
defective,
that
he
had
been
wrongly
cited
in
his
personal
capacity,
and
that
a
court
could
not
interdict
what
he
characterised
as
a
lawful
act.
Several
of
those
objections
were
deemed
abandoned
after
they
were
not
pursued
in
heads
of
argument.
On
the
merits,
the
court
found
that
Mutangiri
had
established
a
prima
facie
right
to
the
peaceful
operation
of
the
school,
even
though
compliance
with
all
regulatory
requirements
remained
in
dispute.
“The
applicant
did
not
construct
the
school
from
the
utter
blue,”
Zisengwe
said,
noting
that
land
had
initially
been
allocated
by
local
headmen
and
that
applications
and
fees
had
been
submitted
to
the
rural
district
council.
The
judge
held
that
the
balance
of
convenience
favoured
allowing
the
school
to
operate,
warning
that
continued
interference
would
cause
irreparable
harm
to
learners
by
depriving
them
of
learning
time
that
could
not
be
recovered.
Pending
final
determination
of
the
matter,
the
court
interdicted
Munodawafa
and
those
acting
through
him
from
blocking
access
roads
or
interfering
in
any
way
with
learning
and
other
operations
at
Riverton
Academy
Extension.