Masvingo Chiefs Take Econet To Court Over Shrine

Two Masvingo chiefs have taken Econet Wireless to court accusing it of defiling a shrine by exhuming bodies and destroying relics as they were setting up a base station.

Chief Murinye (Ephias Munodawafa) and acting Chief Mugabe (Matubede Mudavanhu) say they want construction of the base station to be stopped immediately. Econet have a lease agreement for the space with the Masvingo Rural District Council.

It does open up a can of worms doesn’t it? Maybe it is not obvious to dear readers, but it asks the question, what is more important, tradition or technology?

Econet want to set up a base station which will improve communication for people in that area. The chiefs want those shrines kept in place for religious and traditional reasons. Who should be given precedence in this case? Should the religion of the chiefs be allowed to override communication, 21st century technology brought to the homes of people who only hear about it on radio?

It is a tough one. Perhaps consultation with chiefs over such issues should be done. Perhaps it is a case of oversight and can easily be sorted out over a bira or something. But then again, Econet sees itself as quite christian and will not share brew with the pagans, will it?