Lawrence Mudehwe
| Lawrence Mudehwe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Lawrence Dambudzo Mudehwe July 26, 1933 Mutare |
| Died | August 10, 2022 (aged 89) |
| Nationality | Zimbabwe |
| Education | Saint Mathias Tsonzo |
| Alma mater | Saint Augustine High School |
| Occupation |
|
| Organization | Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe |
| Known for | Being the first executive mayor for Mutare |
| Parent(s) | Vincent Mafini Mudehwe, Norah Mungure |
Lawrence Dambudzo Mudehwe was the former mayor of Mutare and served in the office for 13 years from 1995 to 2013. He was a great visionary, a local democracy icon, a civic leader par excellence.
Background
He was born on 26 July 1933 in Mutare. He did his early education at Mukandi Stapleford Primary where he completed standard one. For standard two and three he went to Makuvaza before moving to Saint Mathias Tsonzo for standard four. He then attended Saint Augustine for standard five and six. [1] Between 1953 and 1954, Lawrence trained as a teacher before venturing into full time teaching.
Work History
The former Mutare mayor taught at several schools before his engagement with politics. He taught at primary schools such as Saint Andrews Mubaira and Bocha Marange. It was while at Saint Barnabas that he was appointed headmaster, the same position he also held at Bwaze Marange before also teaching at Bangare in 1963. [1] He briefly worked at Mobile Electric engineers where he was employed as the warehouse manager and at Dairiboard Zimbabwe Private Limited as personnel manager. He retired from the Dairiboard job. Lawrence was also appointed librarian at Sakubva Library in 1971 but quit the job in 1978 to help with the war effort in his native Manicaland Province.
In 1986, Alderman Mudehwe was elected the First Vice President of Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe (UCAZ), a position he held for two years. When the government introduced the executive mayoral position in 1995, doing away with the ceremonial one, Ald Mudehwe became the first Executive Mayor of Mutare in 1996. He was re-elected Executive Mayor in the 1999 harmonized elections, a position he held until 2003.
His immense contributions to local governance issues earned him admiration from his peers. In recognition of his leadership skills, Ald Mudehwe went on to be elected as First Vice President of UCAZ in 2003 by his fellow mayors. When UCAZ was registered as a Trust in 2000, Ald Mudehwe was one of the first Trustees of the Association. [2]
Political career
- Before becoming a fully fledged politician, Mudehwe worked for the city of Mutare as a Superintendent following a series of demonstrations from residents. Initially, he was the Superintendent for Sakubva in 1981 before his area of jurisdiction was extended to include Dangamvura. [1]
- Following another demonstration against the then Mutare mayor, Davidson Chohwi, Lawrence was petitioned by the residents of Mutare to contest for the office of councillor. He won the election and served as councillor for ward 15. He then contested for the post of mayor in an election he won convincingly in 1984.
- By this time the office of mayor was ceremonial and the office holder was not entitled to a salary, this saw Lawrence taking a teaching post at Saint Dominics in 1985 while keeping his office as mayor. Due to some of the functions and gatherings that he had to attend as ceremonial mayor, Lawrence could not keep up with the demands of his job at Saint Dominics. During that time he was also the first vice president of the Urban Councils of Zimbabwe. [1]
- When the system of ceremonial mayorship was abandoned in favour of executive mayorship he contested in the party primaries but lost and came second. After party deliberations, it was decided that the winner of the party primaries did not have a good record and thus should not contest. Instead of filling the post with Lawrence who had come second in the primaries, another candidate was engaged which provoked another demonstration from Mutare residents who were backing Lawrence Mudehwe for the post. When he communicated to the Zanu PF leadership his desire to square off with the candidate that had been opted for by the party, he was turned down forcing him to contest as an independent candidate. [1] He went on to win the election and was immediately suspended by the party through communication from Didymus Mutasa who was a senior party official in the province at the time.
- In the 1999 election that followed after the expiry of Lawrence's term, Zanu PF introduced a different voting system in substitution which saw Mudehwe not being selected to represent the party. It took another demonstration from Mutare constituents to get Lawrence to contest on his own again, and he went on to win which saw him in office until 2003, capping an illustrious political career.
Initiatives
Mudehwe is credited for initiating the Pungwe Water Project that was engineered by a Swedish company, Skanska. The project saw the city drawing water from the perennial Pungwe River.
Death
Lawrence Dambudzo Mudehwe died on 10 August 2022 at West End Clinic after battling stomach complications. He was granted provincial hero status by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
References
