# Mayor of Mutare

The Mayor of Mutare is the executive of the government of Mutare, Zimbabwe (known as Umtali until 1983). The Mayor is a member of the Mutare City Council, and is assisted by a deputy mayor. The Mayor uses the style "His Worship". The current mayor is Simon Chabuka.

## History

The Town of Umtali became a municipality, in the form of a town, on 11 June 1914. Its first mayor, elected in August 1914, was G. F. Dawson. The mayor and new municipal council replaced the Sanitary Board which had previously governed the settlement.
In 1980, following Zimbabwe's independence, Davidson Jahwi was elected the first black Mayor of Umtali.
Umtali's name was changed to Mutare in 1983.
In 2005, Mayor Misheck Kagurabadza (MDC–T) was suspended from his position by the Minister of Local Government, Ignatius Chombo. Mutare, along with other major cities that had seen their democratically elected MDC–T mayors suspended, was governed by a ZANU–PF-dominated special commission until 2008.
In 2008, Brian James, a white MDC–T member, was elected mayor. He was suspended and then fired in 2008 by Ignatius Chombo, who accused James of mismanagement, misconduct, and insubordination. However, the firing was, in reality, thought to be politically motivated.

## List of mayors

The following is a list of past mayors of Mutare (previously known as Umtali until 1983).
| Mayor | Term start | Term end | Party |
| G. F. Dawson | 1914 | 1916 | |
| W. J. Hosgood | 1916 | 1917 | |
| G. F. Dawson | 1917 | 1918 | |
| Charles Eickhoff | 1918 | 1920 | RGA |
| Jack Meikle | 1920 | 1921 | |
| W. J. McIntosh | 1921 | 1922 | |
| Jack Meikle | 1922 | 1923 | |
| W. Stevens | 1923 | 1925 | |
| J. H. Jeffreys | 1925 | 1926 | |
| Frederick J. Taylor | 1926 | 1927 | |
| W. J. McIntosh | 1927 | 1928 | |
| L. Miller | 1928 | 1929 | |
| Oswald Trevor Baker | 1929 | 1932 | Rhodesia Party |
| JT Woods | 1932 | 1934 | |
| Alfred Bain | 1934 | 1938 | |
| George Washington Chace | 1938 | 1941 | Liberal Party |
| W. R. Love | 1941 | 1942 | |
| Edward King Evans | 1942 | 1945 | |
| Demetrius Catsicas | 1945 | 1948 | |
| R. T. Perkins | 1948 | 1949 | |
| Saxon W. Wood | 1949 | 1952 | |
| Harry Went | 1952 | 1953 | |
| Johannes Mattheus Wessels | 1953 | 1955 | |
| Norman Innes | 1955 | 1957 | |
| Demetrius Catsicas | 1957 | 1958 | |
| George Robert Leach | 1958 | 1959 | |
| Jack Mussett | 1959 | 1961 | |
| Leslie Herbert Morris | 1961 | 1964 | United Federal Party |
| James W. MacGregor | 1964 | 1966 | |
| W. W. S. Smart | 1966 | 1968 | |
| James Somerville Murray | 1968 | 1969 | |
| John Constantinos Kircos | 1969 | 1972 | |
| Douglas G. Reed | 1972 | 1975 | |
| John Charles Burke | August 1975 | August 1977 | |
| Douglas G. Reed | 1977 | 1978 | |
| Max Phillips | 1978 | 1980 | |
| Davidson Jahwi | November 1980 | 24 January 1984 | ZANU–PF |
| Enock Msabaeka | 1984 | 1991 | |
| Lawrence Mudehwe | October 1990 | August 2003 | ZANU–PF (before 1995) |
| Lawrence Mudehwe | October 1990 | August 2003 | Independent (1995–1999) |
| Lawrence Mudehwe | October 1990 | August 2003 | MDC–T (after 1999) |
| Misheck Kagurabadza | 2003 | 23 July 2005 | MDC–T |
| Mayor suspended; Mutare administered by a special commission ||||||
| Brian James | 2008 | April 2013 | MDC–T |
| Tatenda Nhamarare | September 2013 | September 2018 | MDC–T |
| Blessing Tandi | 6 September 2018 | 11 February 2022 | MDC Alliance |
| Simon Chabuka | 17 February 2022 | August 2023 | CCC |
| Sophia Rudo Gwasira | 11 September 2023 | 9 November 2023 | CCC |
| Simon Chabuka | 28 November 2023 | | CCC |

## Deputy mayors
### Notable former deputy mayors

* Leslie Herbert Morris, future mayor
* John Constantinos Kircos, future mayor
* E. M. Phillips, future mayor