Umzingwane is a district in the northern part of Matabeleland South province in Zimbabwe. It was formerly known as Esigodini and before 1982 as Essexvale.[4]
Its governing seat is located in the village of Umzingwane.
Geography
Umzingwane District is located in the province of Matabeleland South with its main administrative council offices at Esigodini.
Umzingwane District lies just south-east of Bulawayo City, the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and to the south of Umguza District of Matabeleland North. Within Matabeleland South, Umzingwane district borders the following districts: Insiza, Gwanda and Matopo.
The district lies almost entirely in the watershed of the Umzingwane River, a left tributary of the Limpopo, but also, in its western regions, includes portions of the Mtshabezi watershed.[5] The district has several recreational parks, including the twelve square kilometers of Umzingwane Recreational Park (aka Umzingwane Dam Reserve),[6] the forty-two square kilometers of Lake Cunningham Recreational Park,[6] and including parts of Matobo National Park.
The terrain in Umzingwane District is varied from the granite inselbergs and koppies (kojies) of the Motobo Hills[7] to flat alluvial plains along the lower drainages.[8][9]
History
In the early 19th century, the Northern Ndebele invaded and settled in the Esigodini area which was at the time inhabited by the Rozi and Moyo Karanga people,[10] who themselves had migrated north from the territory around Gwanda and Belingwe.[11]
A township of some 200,000 acres was founded in 1894 as Essexvale, by Frederick C. Selous[11][12] In 1896 the buildings at Essexvale were burned down by Inxnozan (Inxnogan), during the Matabele Rebellion.[11][13]
Places in Umzingwane
Bezha, a village, birthplace of Professor Thomas Dube, academic and lawyer who served as senior legal and political affairs advisor for 19 years at United Nations Security Council.
Nsezi, a village.Home of late President Canaan Banana and his burial place
Nswazi, a village
Selous House Homestake, historical site
Sihlengeni, a village
Upper and Lower Ncema reservoirs
Esigodini District Hospital
Administration and politics
Umzingwane District has government headquarters located in the village of Umzingwane, and by the Umzingwane Rural District Council, which has its offices in Esigodini. The district is divided into twenty administrative wards.[1] Traditionally the district is divided into four parts, each ruled by a local chieftain.
Esiphezini Communal Land tribal area
uMzinyathini Communal Land
Nswazi Communal Land
Economy
In 2012, Umzingwane District had 48 percent of the economically active population employed in agriculture (primarily farming and livestock production), 17 percent employed in services occupations, 17 percent employed in mining and construction and 2 percent employed in educational institutions.[15]
Notes and references
^ ab"About". Umzingwane Rural District Council. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017.
^Selous, Frederick Courteney (1896). Sunshine and Storm in Rhodesia: Being a Narrative of Events in Matabeleland Both Before and During the Recent Native Insurrection Up to the Date of the Disbandment of the Bulawayo Field Force (second ed.). London: R. Ward and Company. p. 69. OCLC3810815.
^"Lumene Falls". Zimbabwe: A World of Wonders. Zimbabwe Tourism Authority. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022.