Rotten Row, Harare

Last updated

Rotten Row is a road and historic district of central Harare, Zimbabwe , that begins at the intersection of Prince Edward Street and Samora Machel Avenue and runs to the flyover where it borders Mbare on Cripps Road. Rotten Row lies in the west-central section of downtown Harare. The vast majority of the district is occupied by various national and municipal courthouses and office buildings. Today, Rotten Rowe, is best known as the city's legal district, home to the High Court and the city's most prestigious law firms [1]

Contents

Background

Rotten Row was named after the Rotten Row in London. The term "Rotten Row" is a corrupted form of the French phrase ‘Route du Roi’, the King's Road. [2] Early central Harare had both a commercial and residential area. Its proximity to the courthouses attracted lawyers, judges, and clerks to the neighbourhood, while its downtown setting, made it ideal for government employees. Today, it is best known as Harare's legal district home to The Harare Magistrate's Court, the Harare Central Library and the ZANU-PF headquarters, along with numerous law offices. [1] The neighbourhood also lends its name of to the eponymous book by Petina Gappah published in 2016. [3]

Architecture

The architects who worked along Rotten Row and the early urban core included Sir Herbert Baker, William D'Arcy Cathart, Le Roux, and James Alfred Cope-Christie. The architecture is an eclectic mix of the pioneer, Cape Dutch, Queen Anne, brutalist, postmodern and neo-classical styles, though other styles also figured prominently, sometimes within the same building and sometimes scaled back to save on costs. Despite this Rotten Row never achieved the prestige of the Kopje or Causeway areas, instead become a workaday district and ultimately a home to several judicial institutions. [4]

Points of interest

Notable institutions along and in Rotten Row include:

Related Research Articles

Politics of Zimbabwe

The politics of Zimbabwe takes place in a framework of a full presidential republic, whereby the President is the head of state and government as organized by the 2013 Constitution. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The status of Zimbabwean politics has been thrown into question by a 2017 coup.

Harare Capital and largest city of Zimbabwe

Harare is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 960.6 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2,123,132 in the 2012 census and an estimated 3,120,917 in its metropolitan area in 2019. 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.

Joice Mujuru Zimbabwean politician

Joice Runaida Mujuru, also known by her nom-de-guerre Teurai Ropa, is a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Vice-President of Zimbabwe from 2004 to 2014. Previously she had served as a government minister. She also served as Vice-President of ZANU–PF. She was married to Solomon Mujuru until his death in 2011 and was long considered a potential successor to President Robert Mugabe, but in 2014 she was denounced for allegedly plotting against Mugabe. As a result of the accusations against her, Mujuru lost both her post as Vice-President and her position in the party leadership. She was expelled from the party a few months later, after which she formed the new Zimbabwe People First party.

Saviour Kasukuwere Zimbabwe politician (born 1970)

Saviour Kasukuwere is a Zimbabwean politician who served in the government of Zimbabwe as Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and National Housing between October and November 2017. He was also the ZANU–PF party's national political commissar until December 2017. Before that he was Minister of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment, and Minister of the Environment, Water and Climate. In October 2020, the Zimbabwe government sought Kasukuwere's extradition after issuing a warrant for his arrest. It was revealed that Kasukuwere was among loyalists of former President Robert Mugabe who fled to South Africa before their criminal trials could be completed.

Emmerson Mnangagwa 3rd President of Zimbabwe

Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa is a Zimbabwean revolutionist and politician who has served as President of Zimbabwe since 24 November 2017. A member of ZANU–PF and a longtime ally of former President Robert Mugabe, he held a series of cabinet portfolios and was Mugabe's Vice President until November 2017, when he was dismissed before coming to power in a coup d'état. He secured his first full term as president in the disputed 2018 general election.

Tendai Biti Zimbabwean politician

Tendai Laxton Biti is a Zimbabwean politician who served as Finance Minister of Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2013. He is the current Member of Parliament for Harare East Constituency and the second Vice President of Citizens Coalition for Change. He was the Secretary-General of the Movement for Democratic Change and the subsequent Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC-T) political parties and a Member of Parliament for Harare East until he was expelled from the party and recalled from parliament in mid-2014,before winning the seat again in 2018.

Patrick Antony Chinamasa is a Zimbabwean politician who served in the government of Zimbabwe as the minister of various cabinet ministries. Previously he served as the Minister of Finance and Investment Promotion and the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.

Mount Pleasant is a residential suburb of Harare, Zimbabwe, located in the northern part of the city. Originally a farm, the area was developed for housing in the early 20th-century and was a white suburb until Zimbabwe's independence in 1980. Today, Mount Pleasant is a multiracial community and is one of Harare's more affluent suburbs.

Amos Bernard Muvengwa Midzi was a Zimbabwean politician who served in the Cabinet successively as Minister of Energy and Power Development and Minister of Mines and Mining Development from 2002 to 2009.

Obert Moses Mpofu is a Zimbabwean politician, who served as Minister of Home Affairs from 2017 to September 2018. Previously he was Minister of Macro-Economic Planning and Investment Promotion; Minister of Industry and International Trade; Minister of Mines and Mining Development; and Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development. The Cabinet of Zimbabwe was later dissolved on 27 November 2017. He was reappointed as Minister of Home Affairs in Mnangagwa's first cabinet on 30 November 2017. The Culture portfolio was added to his ministry. Mpofu was later removed from the Zimbabwe cabinet in September 2018.

Dr. Samuel Creighton Mumbengegwi was a Zimbabwean politician who served for a time as Minister of Higher Education and as ZANU-PF Chairperson. He was the brother of the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Simba Mumbengegwi.

Joseph Chinotimba is a Zimbabwean political figure. He rose to prominence during the invasions of white-owned commercial farms that started after the 2000 referendum in Zimbabwe. He is widely regarded as a militant ZANU-PF cadre with unquestionable allegiance to the old guard of the ruling party. He is the National Vice-Chairman of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association.

The second round of voting in the Zimbabwean presidential election of 2008 was held between Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai after the first round failed to produce a 50% majority for either candidate. The election process was marred by violence against and intimidation of voters and party workers, which eventually led to the withdrawal of Tsvangirai from the poll. This left Mugabe as the winner of, effectively, a one-candidate election.

Petina Gappah Zimbabwean writer, journalist and business lawyer (born 1971)

Petina Gappah is a Zimbabwean lawyer and writer. She writes in English, though she also draws on Shona, her first language. In 2016, she was named African Literary Person of the Year by Brittle Paper. In 2017 she had a DAAD Artist-in-Residence fellowship in Berlin.

2008 Zimbabwean general election Overview of Zimbabwean general elections

General elections were held in Zimbabwe on 29 March 2008 to elect the President and Parliament. Because of Zimbabwe's dire economic situation, the elections were expected to provide incumbent President Robert Mugabe with his toughest electoral challenge to date. Mugabe's opponents were critical of the handling of the electoral process, and the government was accused of planning to rig the election. Human Rights Watch said that the election was likely to be "deeply flawed."

Victoria Fikile Chitepo was a South African - Zimbabwean politician, activist and educator. She was the wife of Herbert Chitepo, a leading figure in the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), but was a major political figure in her own right and served as a minister in the government of independent Zimbabwe between 1980–1992.

Christopher Tichaona Kuruneri was a Zimbabwean businessman, politician, lawyer, farmer and philanthropist. He was a Minister of Finance, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Development and member of parliament for Mount Darwin East. Kuruneri was a member of Zanu-PF. He owned Ascotvale farm in the Mazowe valley in Zimbabwe.

The ZANU–PF Building is a 15-story high-rise building in Harare, Zimbabwe. Located in the nation's capital, it is the headquarters of ZANU–PF, the ruling party of Zimbabwe. The top floors of the building hold the offices of the ZANU–PF Politburo, lower floors hold other party offices, and the first floor is home to the ZANU Archives, which holds many records from the Rhodesian Bush War. The building hosts annual meetings of the Politburo, party Central Committee, and other party organizations.

Tony Gara Zimbabwean politician

Oriah Anthony Gara was a Zimbabwean businessman and politician. He was a member of the House of Assembly of Zimbabwe for Mbare East from 1990 to 2000 and served as deputy minister of local government, rural and urban development from 1995 until 2000. Before entering Parliament, he was a member of the Harare City Council and served as mayor of Harare from 1985 to 1986.

Causeway is a commercial district on the southeast edge of central Harare. The area is a busy workaday district that hosts numerous civic institutions, research institutes, and international organizations. Additionally, many government departments and ministries are headquartered here, along with museums such as the National Gallery of Art, are located here.

References

  1. 1 2 Herald, The. "Inside Rotten Row Court 6". The Herald. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
  2. ↑ "History and Architecture". The Royal Parks. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
  3. ↑ Kola, F. T. (2016-11-19). "Rotten Row by Petina Gappah review – buzzing with Zimbabwe life". The Guardian. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
  4. ↑ "Travel to Zimbabwe: Harare with the Great Mirror".
  5. ↑ "Museum of Human Sciences | Zimbabwe Field Guide".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.