Kariba Chiefs Disagree Over Who Should Lead Prayers After Boat Tragedy

Story By Obert Siamulandu

Traditional chiefs in Kariba and Hurungwe are still divided over who has authority over Lake Kariba. This old disagreement has come up again as chiefs plan a cleansing ceremony for the boat disaster that happened on August 11.

A boat called Mbuya Nehanda sank near Long Island on Lake Kariba that day. Ninety-seven people died. Most of them were children on their way to school. It is one of the worst boat accidents the region has seen. Because of the accident, the government stopped Silverstone ferry services. This is partly because of the planned ceremony, and partly because the ferry company did not follow safety rules.

Chief Mola Champion Rare of Kariba is leading plans for the ceremony. No date has been set yet yet. Some people are calling this a moment of unity between the two groups of chiefs. But community elders say the real argument about who controls the lake has not been solved — it has only been put aside for now.

Where the Disagreement Comes From

The fight over Lake Kariba goes back to when it was built. The lake was made between 1955 and 1959, after workers built the Kariba Dam. It is the biggest man-made lake in the world by volume, covering 5,580 square kilometres.

Building the dam forced about 57,000 Tonga people to leave their homes, both in what is now Zimbabwe and in Zambia. Many families from Kariba moved to higher land in the area now called Nyaminyami. Others moved to Hurungwe. People say they were not properly paid or supported when they were forced to move. This history is a big reason both groups still argue over who has spiritual authority over the lake today.

Cultural historian Pedzisai Mashiri explains that Hurungwe chiefs base their claim on the escarpment side of the Zambezi River, while Kariba chiefs base their claim on the water itself, where their people used to live before being displaced. He says the current disaster has brought a short pause in the conflict, not a real solution.

Cecilia Chitiyo, a provincial development officer for Mashonaland West, said she could not comment directly on the leadership dispute, since it is a cultural matter for the chiefs to settle. She confirmed that the ferry was suspended because the operator did not meet safety requirements.

Some Chiefs Choose Unity

Not everyone wants to keep fighting over the lake right now. Harrison Nyamufukudza, a cultural expert also known as Sekuru Nzou, said Hurungwe chiefs plan to attend the ceremony to support Kariba chiefs, not to argue over control of the lake. He said that after such a big loss of life, standing together matters more than the old dispute.

But Chief Mola has said Kariba chiefs will lead their own ceremony separately. He explained that he had already told government officials that Hurungwe chiefs are not part of Kariba’s traditional practices, since the two groups have different customs. He said Hurungwe chiefs are welcome to hold their own ceremony too, just not the same one.

Ceremony Plans

According to Chief Mola, preparations are well underway, including brewing traditional beer for the event. He has asked local authorities to keep all boats off the lake during the ceremony, and to avoid using lights on the water that night, so the ritual can be done properly.

The ceremony is expected to start at a sacred site called Siamavu in Chalala, overlooking the lake, before moving to Kariba town, where it will continue overnight into the next morning. Chief Mola will lead the ceremony alongside Chief Nebiri, who he says is his nephew, along with other Kariba chiefs.

Reporting based on original coverage by The Standard.