MASVINGO – The High Court has interdicted a Masvingo traditional chief from interfering with the operations of a newly established private school after finding that his actions amounted to unlawful self-help rather than the lawful exercise of traditional authority.
Justice Josephine Zisengwe of the Masvingo High Court granted an urgent interim interdict barring Chief Murinye, real name Ephias Munodawafa, from blocking access to Riverton Academy Extension, a private school located in the Murinye and Machingura villages, following a dramatic standoff at the start of the January 2026 school term.
The court heard that on January 11, Munodawafa physically blocked the road leading to the school with his vehicle, preventing parents from dropping off children who had already been enrolled.
The chief allegedly threatened to unleash snakes on the school premises to stop lessons from commencing.
The school’s owner, Philimon Mutangiri, approached the High Court on an urgent basis seeking protection from what he described as vigilante-style conduct by the chief.
In opposing the application, Munodawafa argued that the school had been constructed on communal land without his authority, without approval from Masvingo Rural District Council, and without compliance with statutory requirements including an environmental impact assessment.
He maintained that, as chief, he was empowered under the Traditional Leaders Act to prevent unauthorised settlement on communal land.
Justice Zisengwe rejected that argument, holding that while chiefs wield significant administrative and judicial authority, they are not above the law.
“At its most basic form the principle of the rule of law propounds that everyone, including the government, is accountable to publicly available and equally enforced laws that are independently judged,” the judge said.
She ruled that Munodawafa could not “arrogate unto himself the role of complainant, judge, jury and executioner in his own case,” adding that even if he believed the school was unlawfully established, the law provided formal mechanisms for enforcement.
“The provisions relied upon do not necessarily permit taking matters into one’s own hands,” Zisengwe said, noting that customary court judgments must be enforced through procedures set out in the Customary Law and Local Courts Act, not by physical obstruction.
The judge dismissed a series of preliminary objections raised by the chief, including claims that the application was defective, that he had been wrongly cited in his personal capacity, and that a court could not interdict what he characterised as a lawful act. Several of those objections were deemed abandoned after they were not pursued in heads of argument.
On the merits, the court found that Mutangiri had established a prima facie right to the peaceful operation of the school, even though compliance with all regulatory requirements remained in dispute.
“The applicant did not construct the school from the utter blue,” Zisengwe said, noting that land had initially been allocated by local headmen and that applications and fees had been submitted to the rural district council.
The judge held that the balance of convenience favoured allowing the school to operate, warning that continued interference would cause irreparable harm to learners by depriving them of learning time that could not be recovered.
Pending final determination of the matter, the court interdicted Munodawafa and those acting through him from blocking access roads or interfering in any way with learning and other operations at Riverton Academy Extension.
