The Zanu PF women’s league has made another pilgrimage to the Chimoio Shrine in Mozambique for for unclear business, barely two weeks after an earlier visit was followed by the unexplained death of a senior party official.
The visit took place amid claims that spirit mediums had expressed anger over the state of the country and its governance. The latest delegation travelled to the shrine last Tuesday and returned the following day, according to sources within the ruling party.
The visit came after an earlier attempt to return to the shrine was abandoned when the leader of a group of eight sangomas reportedly fell ill.
Some buses carrying the delegation had already travelled as far as Marondera before turning back.
The return trip was subsequently postponed to August 22, but that attempt also failed to materialise.
Sources said the latest delegation included the Zanu-PF women’s league provincial executive from Harare and four representatives from each of the country’s provinces.
First lady Auxillia Mnangagwa also reportedly accompanied the delegation, though she travelled separately by private jet while the Women’s League members travelled by bus.
“They managed to go this week, with the company of first lady Auxillia Mnangagwa,” a Zanu-PF insider said.
- Female politicians complain over sexual harassment
- Zimbabwe’s lobby to lift ivory trade ban stutters
- Zimbabwe’s lobby to lift ivory trade ban stutters
- Corruption Watch: Get scared, 2023 is coming
Keep Reading
The latest pilgrimage followed the death of Susan Vera-Chirenje, the party’s director for gender and culture, who was part of an earlier delegation to the shrine.
Vera-Chirenje, a former Zanu-PF central committee member and Budiriro senator, died suddenly shortly after returning from Chimoio.
Her husband also died days later. Vera-Chirenje was declared a provincial heroine and buried at Zororo Memorial Park last Tuesday.
The circumstances surrounding her death have fuelled speculation within Zanu-PF, although there is no independent evidence establishing a link between her death and the Chimoio visit.
Sources, who claimed to have knowledge of the earlier pilgrimage said Vera-Chirenje had interacted with spirit mediums at the shrine after some members of the delegation allegedly became possessed.
According to these accounts, two women who live at the shrine immediately became possessed when the delegation arrived, before a third woman from the visiting group experienced a similar episode.
The spirit mediums allegedly questioned the purpose of the delegation’s visit and expressed dissatisfaction with the state of Zimbabwe under President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
They reportedly told the delegation that “Zimbabwe had gone down.”
Vera-Chirenje was then said to have intervened, attempting to reassure the spirit mediums that the government was addressing the country’s problems.
According to the sources, she cited Mnangagwa’s constitutional reforms, including Constitutional Amendment Act No. 3, as evidence that the government was working towards development and improving the country’s trajectory.
The mediums allegedly rejected the explanation and maintained that they were unhappy with the manner in which the country was being governed.
They also reportedly warned the delegation against removing soil from the shrine for use in rituals, threatening death against anyone who disregarded the warning.
Sources also claimed that the spirit mediums accused politically connected individuals and members of the state security establishment of being among those involved in activities that had angered the spirits.
The Standard could not independently verify the claims made by the sources, including the alleged possession of members of the delegation, the purported warnings by the spirit mediums, or any connection between the events at the shrine and Vera-Chirenje’s subsequent death.
The Chimoio Shrine, in Mozambique’s Manica province, occupies an important place in the country’s liberation history. The site is associated with the Chimoio massacre of November 1977, when Rhodesian security forces attacked Zanla camps and refugees in Mozambique during an operation code-named Operation Dingo. Thousands of people were killed in the attack.
The shrine has subsequently become an important site of remembrance for Zimbabwe’s liberation war, while stories surrounding its spiritual significance have also circulated for decades.
The latest pilgrimage appears to have been prompted by concerns among some Zanu-PF members following the events surrounding the earlier visit, sources alleged.
One source said the women’s league leadership had wanted to return to Chimoio accompanied by traditional healers in an apparent attempt to address what they believed were unresolved spiritual issues.
That plan was disrupted when the lead sangoma reportedly fell ill. The latest trip was eventually undertaken this week, although details of what happened during the delegation’s visit remain unclear.
The developments come at a politically sensitive time for Zanu-PF, with Mnangagwa facing internal debate over his constitutional reform agenda and the future direction of the party.
The reported spiritual warnings have consequently added another layer of anxiety within sections of the ruling party, with some members privately questioning whether the events at Chimoio carry wider political significance,
