Centre News Hub
Masvingo- In a tense standoff that has rattled a rural community, villagers in Murinye chieftainship are clashing with their traditional leader, Chief Murinye born Ephias Munodawafa , after he barred them from picking and selling wild fruits, notably mazhanje (wild loquat), and mushrooms to the nearby Masvingo city market.
The chief says the trade violates customary and traditional laws and values, while locals argue, the ban jeopardizes their livelihoods.
Villagers speaking to Centre News Hub described the ban as a heavy blow to families who depend on seasonal sales to survive the rainy months and to pay school fees.
“Selling mazhanje and mushrooms during the rainy season used to help us fend for our families and send our children to school,” one villager said, requesting anonymity.
Another said the ban compounds unemployment in the area, leaving many households with few viable income streams.
The clash brings tension between traditional authority and modern market pressures, as communities seek ways to balance cultural norms with livelihoods in a changing economy.
A villager from Boroma village who declined to be named for fear of victimisation by the chief’s council said the ban was cruel as they were only doing it to survive.
“We are not allowed to harvest mazhanje and hohwa to sell them along local highways or transport to the city by Chief. This is a cruel move to us as we are only trying to fend for our families as we stare hunger in the face due to incessant droughts caused by climate change in our area,” said the villager.
Another villager who only identified himself as mudhara Hwiri, says they do not understand where the traditional laws justification is coming from, since the wild fruits and mushrooms are God given and the Chief is not supreme to the almighty.
“The Chief is trying to justify using traditional customs but we are saying these are Go given things that should benefit us as villagers of the area, we Are just trying to do business from our God given resources but the Chief bar us, it’s not fair,” Mudhara Hwiri added.
Chief Murinye confirmed the ban saying he was doing that to preserve the customs and traditional laws of the Murinye people and surrounding areas.
“Yes it’s true, selling of any wild fruits and mushroom is prohibited in my area because of our traditional rules that have been there since time immemorial. People should eat the fruits and other things here and leave them there, by selling them to Masvingo we are violating our traditional rules and customs so we are only preserving our customs and nothing else,” he said.
He added that by barring them he was trying to protect the fruits which are also sources of food to wild animals and birds that survive on them.
“Look if we allow wild fruits to be harvested where wild animals and birds will get food from. Unlike them when the fruits are exhausted I can’t assist them with food from Zunde ramambo or take them to social welfare the wild animals rely solely form the food in the jungle hence they must be protected so that our eco system thrives,” said Chief Murinye.
The Chief said those who are caught violating the traditional rules are arrested by his security and summoned to appear before his traditional caught for trial and if convicted they are fined.
“Those who are caught breaching the customs are arrested and brought before my court where they are tried and punished depending on the density of their crime, like to say the amount of fruits they would have harvested to sell, some will have some huge tins or bags while other use trucks so the fine vary,” he added.
But villagers insisted that the ban was unfair and cruel to them since the must find other ways for survival under difficult economic conditions.
