| Post: | Mayor |
| Body: | Mutare |
| Insigniasize: | 150px |
| Insigniacaption: | Coat of arms of Mutare |
| Incumbent: | Simon Chabuka |
| Incumbentsince: | 28 November 2023 |
| Style: | His Worship |
| Inaugural: | G. F. Dawson |
| Website: | Official webpage |
The Mayor of Mutare is the executive of the government of Mutare, Zimbabwe (known as Umtali until 1983). The Mayor is a member of the Mutare City Council, and is assisted by a deputy mayor. The Mayor uses the style "His Worship".[1] The current mayor is Simon Chabuka.[2]
The Town of Umtali became a municipality, in the form of a town, on 11 June 1914.[3] Its first mayor, elected in August 1914, was G. F. Dawson. The mayor and new municipal council replaced the Sanitary Board which had previously governed the settlement.
In 1980, following Zimbabwe's independence, Davidson Jahwi was elected the first black Mayor of Umtali.
Umtali's name was changed to Mutare in 1983.
In 2005, Mayor Misheck Kagurabadza (MDC–T) was suspended from his position by the Minister of Local Government, Ignatius Chombo.[4] Mutare, along with other major cities that had seen their democratically elected MDC–T mayors suspended, was governed by a ZANU–PF-dominated special commission until 2008.
In 2008, Brian James, a white MDC–T member, was elected mayor.[5] He was suspended and then fired in 2008 by Ignatius Chombo, who accused James of mismanagement, misconduct, and insubordination.[6] However, the firing was, in reality, thought to be politically motivated.
The following is a list of past mayors of Mutare (previously known as Umtali until 1983).
| Mayor | Term start | Term end | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| data-sort-value="1875" | 1914 | data-sort-value="1876" | 1916 | ||||
| data-sort-value="1784" | 1916 | 1917 | |||||
| 1917 | 1918 | ||||||
| 1918 | 1920 | RGA | |||||
| 1920 | 1921 | ||||||
| 1921 | 1922 | ||||||
| 1922 | 1923 | ||||||
| 1923 | 1925 | ||||||
| 1925 | 1926 | ||||||
| 1926 | 1927 | ||||||
| 1927 | 1928 | ||||||
| 1928 | 1929 | ||||||
| 1929 | 1932 | Rhodesia Party | |||||
| 1932 | 1934 | ||||||
| 1934 | 1938 | ||||||
| 1938 | 1941 | Liberal Party | |||||
| 1941 | 1942 | ||||||
| 1942 | 1945 | ||||||
| 1945 | 1948 | ||||||
| 1948 | 1949 | ||||||
| 1949 | 1952 | ||||||
| 1952 | 1953 | ||||||
| 1953 | 1955 | ||||||
| 1955 | 1957 | ||||||
| 1957 | 1958 | ||||||
| 1958 | 1959 | ||||||
| 1959 | 1961 | ||||||
| 1961 | 1964 | United Federal Party | |||||
| 1964 | 1966 | ||||||
| 1966 | 1968 | ||||||
| 1968 | 1969 | ||||||
| 1969 | 1972 | ||||||
| 1972 | 1975 | ||||||
| August 1975 | August 1977 | [7] | |||||
| 1977 | 1978 | ||||||
| 1978 | 1980 | [8] | |||||
| November 1980 | data-sort-value="1984" | 24 January 1984 | ZANU–PF | [9] [10] | |||
| 1984 | 1991 | ||||||
| October 1990 | August 2003 | [11] | |||||
| 2003 | data-sort-value="2005" | 23 July 2005 | MDC–T | [12] | |||
| Mayor suspended; Mutare administered by a special commission[13] | |||||||
| 2008 | data-sort-value="2013" | April 2013 | MDC–T | ||||
| data-sort-value="2013" | September 2013 | September 2018 | MDC–T | [14] | |||
| 6 September 2018 | 11 February 2022 | MDC Alliance | [15] [16] [17] | ||||
| 17 February 2022 | August 2023 | CCC | |||||
| 11 September 2023 | 9 November 2023 | CCC | [18] [19] | ||||
| 28 November 2023 | CCC | ||||||