| Beatrice | |
|---|---|
  Beatrice | |
| Coordinates: 18°16′S30°52′E / 18.267°S 30.867°E Coordinates: 18°16′S30°52′E / 18.267°S 30.867°E | |
| Country | Zimbabwe |
| Province | Mashonaland East |
| Population (1982) | |
| • Total | 1,300 |
| estimated | |
| Time zone | CAT (UTC+2) |
Beatrice is a farming community in the province of Mashonaland East, Zimbabwe. It is located about 54 km south-west of Harare on the main Harare–Masvingo road where it crosses the Mupfure River. According to the 1982 Population Census, the village had a population of 1,300. [1]
Harare is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 960.6 km2 (371 mi2) and an estimated population of 1,606,000 in 2009, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area in 2006. Situated in north-eastern Zimbabwe in the country's Mashonaland region, Harare is a metropolitan province, which also incorporates the municipalities of Chitungwiza and Epworth. The city sits on a plateau at an elevation of 1,483 metres above sea level and its climate falls into the subtropical highland category.
Masvingo is a city in south-eastern Zimbabwe and the capital of Masvingo Province. The city is close to Great Zimbabwe, the national monument from which the country takes its name. Great Zimbabwe ruins are the remains of one of greatest African civilizations after the Pharaohs: the Kingdom of Great Zimbabwe dominated the area from present Zimbabwe, East of Botswana and South East of Mozambique in the late Iron Age. From the impressive granite stone complex that was once built, the ruins span 1,800 ac and cover a radius of 100-200 mi. edit Masvingo is close to Lake Mutirikwi, its recreational park, the Kyle dam and the Kyle National Reserve where there are many different animal species.
Mupfure River is a river in Zimbabwewith its source in Mashonaland East province and crossing into Mashonaland West province. It joins Sanyati river which flows nothwards and drains into the Zambezi river.
The village was named after the Beatrice gold mine, around which it grew. The mine was in operation from 1895 to 1945 and was named after Beatrice Borrow, the sister of Lieutenant Henry J. Borrow, a member of the Pioneer Column. The original Beatrice Mine was pegged by Frank Johnson & Company, Henry J. Borrow being a partner of the firm. [1] It was extremely lucrative, with a gold vein over a metre wide that yielded over five ounces (150 g) of gold per tonne when operations began in 1895. The European settlers also established Beatrice Farm, a large ranch that may have been populated with cattle which they had looted from the Ndebele. [2] Gold is still mined at the Joyce Mine nearby. Mixed farming and dairy farming take place in the surrounding area. [1]
The Pioneer Column was a force raised by Cecil Rhodes and his British South Africa Company in 1890 and used in his efforts to annex the territory of Mashonaland, later part of Southern Rhodesia.
The Northern Ndebele people are a Bantu nation and ethnic group in Southern Africa, who share a common Ndebele culture and Ndebele language. The Northern Ndebele were historically referred to as the Matabele which was a seSotho corruption of 'Ndebele'. Their history began when a Zulu chiefdom split from King Shaka in the early 19th century under the leadership of Mzilikazi, a former chief in his kingdom and ally. Under his command the disgruntled Zulus went on to conquer and rule the chiefdoms of the Southern Ndebele. This was where the name and identity of the eventual kingdom was adopted.
In March 2009, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's vehicle was involved in an accident which led to the death of his wife, Susan, on the Harare–Masvingo road near Beatrice. She was taken to a hospital in Beatrice where she was pronounced dead. [3]
Morgan Richard Tsvangirai was a Zimbabwean politician who was Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2013. He was President of the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC-T) and a key figure in the opposition to former President Robert Mugabe.
Susan Nyaradzo Tsvangirai was a prominent figure in Zimbabwean politics as a notable member of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC-T) political party, and was the wife of Morgan Tsvangirai, former Prime Minister of Zimbabwe. She has been described as being a mother figure for the country, providing strength behind the scenes.
The area gained further notoriety in August 2011, when a fire broke out at Alamein Farm, a 5000-hectare property which had been requisitioned from the owner in 2003 by retired General Solomon Mujuru and his wife, Vice-President of Zimbabwe, Joice Mujuru. [4] The General and another officially unidentified person died in circumstances that many commentators suggest were suspicious. [5] [6]
Alamein Farm, also known as Ruzambu Farm, is a 5,000 hectare farm at Beatrice, in the Mashonaland East area of Zimbabwe, 72 km south of the capital Harare. It was a highly productive commercial farming operation, employing around one thousand people and producing large quantities of tobacco, maize and Rhodes grass, as well as cattle and farmed game. The farm gained notoriety in 2002, when General Solomon Mujuru and his wife, Zimbabwean Vice President Joice Mujuru, evicted the farm owner and all farm inhabitants under the auspices of the Land Reform Programme, and became the first of President Robert Mugabe's inner circle to be found guilty of unlawful land seizures. Under General Mujuru, the farm continued to produce tobacco, maize and game. Farm workers also produced their own tobacco on land allocated to them.
Solomon Mujuru, also known by his nom-de-guerre, Rex Nhongo, was a Zimbabwean military officer and politician who led Robert Mugabe's guerrilla forces during the Rhodesian Bush War. He was from the Zezuru clan. In post-independence Zimbabwe, he went on to become army chief before leaving government service in 1995. After leaving his post in the Zimbabwe National Army, he got into politics becoming Member of Parliament for Chikomba on a Zanu PF ticket. He was generally regarded as one of the most feared men in Zimbabwe. His wife, Joice Mujuru, became Vice-President of Zimbabwe in 2004.
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in southern Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique. The capital and largest city is Harare. A country of roughly 16 million people, Zimbabwe has 16 official languages, with English, Shona, and Ndebele the most commonly used.
