Gweru District is a district in the

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...

Province of

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 Mozam ...

Background

Gweru District gets its name from

Gweru River Gweru River (known as Gwelo River until 1982) is a river in Midlands Province of Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bo ...

which has the city as its source and primary drainage basin. Maintaining the theme of the midlands Gweru is very diverse. The name Gweru is a further corruption of the name Gwelo which was a distortion of the name ''Ikwelo'' given by isiNdebele speakers in the late 19th century. Ikwelo was the district because it was not a spot name but rather a name given to a place along the length of the river in question as written by Colonel Carbutt, of

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

as published by the then Chief Information Officer, Information Services Branch. (Division of Native Affairs, Salisbury September, 1960) in the article ''Lore and Legend: Southern Rhodesia Place Names''. Gweru District has a population of over 231,675. It has

Shurugwi District Shurugwi District is located in Midlands Province, southern Zimbabwe. Background It is an important centre for gold, platinum and chrome mining, but it is perhaps best known as the home district of the former Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Doug ...

to the southeast,

Chirumhanzu District Chirumhanzu District is a Second-order Administrative Sub-division of Midlands (Zimbabwe) between Gweru and Masvingo. Its center is about 46 km south of Mvuma but the administrative centre has moved to Mvuma a small mining town that is found ...

to the east, Insiza District southwest,

Bubi District Bubi is a district in Matabeleland North 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, ...

to the west, Nkayi District northwest and

Kwekwe District Kwekwe District is a district in Zimbabwe. Location It is found in the Midlands Province, in the central Zimbabwe. Kwekwe, with an estimated population of about 99,200 in 2004, is the capital city of the district. The district capital is located ...

north.

Gweru City Climate

Source:World Meteorological Organization

Gweru Rural

Gweru District is administered by the District Administrator who is an ex-officio of (Gweru City Council and Gweru Rural District Council. for Gweru rural. Gweru rural district includes

Lower Gweru Lower Gwelo is a developed communal settlement in the Midlands province, Zimbabwe and is located about 40 km north-west of Gweru, and stretches a further 50 km to the west. Lower gwelo was initially called Somabhula and later became Somabh ...

and the greater part of Chiwundura

Gweru Urban

Urban districts are administered by urban councils established in terms of the Zimbabwe Urban Councils Act, Chapter 29.15 Gweru local authority is Gweru Municipality which is literally Gweru City Council. Like in most urban centers nationwide Gweru City Council is dominated by MDC-T. 2013 - 2018 Term Source: Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Gweru mayor for this term was Clr. Hamutendi Kombayi 2008 - 2013 Term Source: Kubatana Aechive The mayor was Councilor Desmond Fungayi Mufunde who died on 21 June 2009.24 June 200
Another MDC Official Dies
The Zimbabwe Daily, news, Retrieved 3 March 2016

Operations

Gweru District, district number three of the 61 in Zimbabwe has

Gweru Gweru is a city in central Zimbabwe. Near the geographical centre of the country. It is on the centre of Midlands Province. Originally an area known to the Northern Ndebele people, Ndebele as "The Steep Place" because of the Gweru River's high ...

City the 3rd largest city in Zimbabwe as its capital. Gweru City is also Midlands provincial capital. It is located 164 km northeast of

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council cl ...

and 275 km south-west-south of

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 ...

via

Mvuma Mvuma, previously named 'Umvuma', is a small mining town in Midlands province in Zimbabwe. Located 192 km south of Harare along the Harare - Masvingo highway. Approx 100 km from Masvingo. Background The main employer was the Athens Mi ...

( A17 Highway ) or 278 km via

Kwekwe Kwekwe ( ), known until 1983 as Que Que, is a city in the Midlands province of central Zimbabwe. The city has a population of 119,863 within the city limits, as of the 2022 census, making it the 7th-largest city in Zimbabwe and the second-most p ...

( A5 Highway ). . Gwer District is home to *

Roman Catholic Diocese of Gweru The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gweru ( la, Gueruen(sis)) is a suffragan diocese in the city of Gweru in the ecclesiastical province of Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. History * November 14, 1946: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Fort Victoria * June ...

, *

,* Riverside School,*

Ascot Stadium Ascot Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Gweru, Zimbabwe. It is currently used mostly for football matches and serves as the home stadium for Hardbody F.C and Chapungu United Chapungu United is a Zimbabwean association football, footba ...

, * Chapungu United, * Nalatale, *

Danangombe Danangombe (formerly Dhlo-Dhlo or Ndlo Dlo, alternative spellings Danamombe per National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe, Dananombe and Danan'ombe) is a Zimbabwean archaeological site, about eighty kilometres from Gweru, in the direction of Bula ...

Dabuka Dabuka is a major railway marshalling yard in central Zimbabwe. It is near Gweru. See also * List of rail yards This article is a list of important rail yards in geographical order. These listed may be termed Classification, Freight, Marshalli ...

, *

Chaplin High School Chaplin High School is situated in Gweru, Zimbabwe, and was started in October 1902. It was started in a building of the Trinity Church (Gweru), Trinity Church, Gwelo and first named as the Trinity Church School (1). The school caters for boys and ...

Thornhill High School Thornhill High School opened on the air force base in Gwelo, Rhodesia (now Gweru, Zimbabwe) in January 1955. In January 1958, the school moved to its present site in Gweru. The first Headmaster was Phil Todd who retired in 1961. He was followe ...

, * Sacred Heart College,*

Midlands Christian College Midlands Christian College (MCC) is an independent co-educational high school of about 300 pupils ranging from form 1 to form 6, located in the city of Gweru, Zimbabwe. The college has boarding facilities as well as providing for day-scholars. It ...

, * Nashville Secondary School, * Fletcher High School,*

Midlands State University Midlands State University is a government owned university in Zimbabwe. The university has 9 faculties (Agriculture, Arts, Commerce, Education, Engineering, Law, Science, Social Sciences and Medicine) offering a wide variety of courses and many ...

,* Gweru Sports Club and *

Gweru-Thornhill Air Base Gweru-Thornhill Air Base is one of the two main air bases of the Air Force of Zimbabwe located near the central city of Gweru, Thornhill Air Base is home to air force fighter squadrons and the Pilot Training School. According to ''Janes Defen ...

to name a few.

References

{{Gweru District Populated places in Midlands Province