Mbare is a suburb in the 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 ...

, Zimbabwe. Founded in 1907 as a township, it includes an

informal settlement Informal housing or informal settlement can include any form of housing, shelter, or settlement (or lack thereof) which is illegal, falls outside of government control or regulation, or is not afforded protection by the state. As such, the info ...

. Mbare Musika is the largest farm produce market in Zimbabwe.

History

Mbare was the first township, now known as a high density area, established in 1907. It was originally called Harari and much of it was constructed after 1950. Before the 1980s the government built the Matapi flats. A total of fourteen blocks of apartments were built to house bachelors who came to Harare (then Salisbury) to find employment. Since the 1980s the apartments have become multifamily, with the rooms divided by curtains or boxes. The population of the flats has grown from 3,000 to an estimated 28,000 to 30,000. For Independence Day in 1980

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

was personally invited by

Edgar Tekere Edgar Zivanai Tekere (1 April 1937 – 7 June 2011), nicknamed "2 Boy", was a Zimbabwean politician. He was the second and last Secretary General of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) who organised the party during the Lancaster House ta ...

, and played a concert in Rufaro Stadium. In 2001, over 500,000 people were displaced from their Mbare homes when the council demolished 145,000 homes they declared were illegal. Significant portions of Mbare, including the Mupedzanhamo Flea Market, were destroyed by police and military forces during

Operation Murambatsvina Operation Murambatsvina (''Move the Rubbish''), also officially known as Operation Restore Order, was a large-scale Zimbabwean government campaign to forcibly clear slum areas across the country. The campaign started in 2005 and according to Unit ...

in May 2005, when President

Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the ...

described the inhabitants as "people without totems".

Economy and markets

Mbare has Mbare Musika, the largest farm produce market in Zimbabwe. Farmers deliver their fresh crops every morning and some travel from far away places like Mutare,

Masvingo Masvingo is a city in south-eastern Zimbabwe and the capital of Masvingo Province. The city is situated close to Great Zimbabwe, the national monument from which the country takes its name and close to Lake Mutirikwi, its recreational park, ...

and Kariba to sell their produce. This area has fallen into disrepair in recent years. When

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, Queen of the United Kingdom, visited Zimbabwe in 1991 as part of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, she expressed a desire to see Mbare Musika. The government therefore launched a court case to evict

squatters Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

she might see on her journey. In "The City of Harare v Tichaona Mudzingwa and 193 others", the High Court stated the government had no reason to evict the squatters, then the government simply forcibly resettled them on a farm 30 kilometres outside Harare.

Notable residents

* Thomas Mapfumo * Leonard Mapfumo

References

External links

Labourhistory.net
{{Authority control Suburbs of Harare 1907 establishments in Southern Rhodesia Populated places established in 1907 Squatting in Zimbabwe