Sebungwe Region

Sebungwe Region
Region
Interactive map of Sebungwe Region
Coordinates: 17°51′53″S 27°10′31″E / 17.8646°S 27.1752°E / -17.8646; 27.1752 (Sebungwe)
Country	Zimbabwe
Area
• Total	17,000 km^2 (6,600 sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (CAT)

The Sebungwe Region is a large geographical and historical region in north-western Zimbabwe, covering approximately 17,000 square kilometres (6,600 sq mi). It forms the easternmost part of the Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA), a significant conservation area spanning across five countries in southern Africa. Situated south of Lake Kariba, Sebungwe spans across four districts: Binga, Gokwe North, Nyaminyami, and Kariba. The region is characterized by a diverse range of land uses, including national parks, safari areas, forestry areas, and communal lands, making it a vital corridor for wildlife populations and a key component of the KAZA TFCA.^[1]

History

The origins of Sebungwe ( Gokwe Region)'s name and its administrative evolution are described differently, but complementarily rather than contradictorily, in various sources. In terms of Historiography and Toponymy, these accounts reflect the gradual consolidation of Mapfungautsi into the wider Sebungwe Region during the early 20th century, as documented in successive colonial maps and administrative records.

The Sebungwe Region was a composite territory comprising distinct areas, not a homogeneous unit:

• Sebungu – the north-western component, associated with early district administration and cartography
• Mapfungautsi (Mafungabusi) – the eastern and southern component, centred on a Tsetse-fly Control Camp that formed the nucleus of what would become Gokwe, situated on a forested plateau, part of which later became Mapfungautsi State Forest

These areas retained their distinct geographical and historical identities, contributing to ambiguity in defining the scope of the Sebungwe Region.

The formation of Sebungwe

Sources differ slightly on the original names of the core areas that formed the Sebungwe Region, but it is generally agreed that Sebungu and Mapfungautsi merged to create it, with some variation in accounts regarding the earlier designation of the territory now known as Gokwe

According to Ngwenya Menelisi, the area was originally designated as Sebungu, established on 15 March 1898. On 2 August 1901, Sebungu and Mapfungautsi areas were amalgamated to form Sebungu-Mapfungautsi (not to be confused with Mapfungautsi State Forest, which was within the greater Mapfungautsi Plateau). This combined area was subsequently abbreviated to Sebungwe on 21 February 1907. A significant portion of Sebungwe was then redesignated as Gokwe on 18 January 1957.^[2][3][4]

Early colonial map of Gwelo Regions, Southern Rhodesia, showing Sebungwe (top left) prior to modern administrative boundaries.

On the 1909 Congress and colonial maps of Southern Rhodesia, Sebungwe and Mapfungautsi appear as distinct but related landscape names. These names may have been applied before detailed topographic surveying standardized modern landform classifications. Sebungwe is shown both as a broad territorial area and as a specific point marked Sebungwe BSAP Station (British South African Police Station), within a wider region already recognized as Sebungwe. To the east and south-east, Mapfungautsi is likewise presented as a larger landscape area and a prominent feature labelled Mapfungautsi Mnt (Mountain), suggesting that early cartographers identified the locality by its most visible high ground when viewing from the lowlands.^[5] Later surveys reinterpreted Mapfungautsi as a vast plateau. The 1909 Congress map suggests part of Mapfungautsi's northwest might have been merged with Subungu (Binga area), forming the new Sebungwe region – without incorporating the entire Mapfungautsi area until later. On this map, Sebungwe is shown between the Gwayi and Sebungwe rivers, bordering Bubi Region. It included what is now the Kavira Forest Area.^[6]

When combined, the Gwelo Districts and Urungwe Districts maps show Mapfungautsi, not Sebungwe, bordering Lomagundi Region. This suggests the Sebungwe Region was enlarged later, or the 1901 amalgamation of Sebungu-Mapfungautsi was renamed Sebungwe later than 1909.

Although these sources present different origins and time frames of the name Sebungwe, they complement each other, painting a broader picture of the region's complex history. The 1927 Southern Rhodesia map shows Sebungwe as both a region and a reserve (TTL), with Gokwe center located within Sebungwe. This indicates the extended Sebungwe Region had encompassed Mapfungautsi by then.^[7] This map supports the 1901 map by Molyneux A.J.C, suggesting Sebungu-Mapfungautsi was either implemented later or put on hold. The 1901 map clearly shows Sebungu in today's Binga District and Mapfungautsi in today's Gokwe Region.^[8]

In later days, Sebungwe Region covered a vast area including present-day Binga and parts of Midlands Province, stretching from Kariba in the north to the Ngondoma River and Sanyati River in the south, and acording to then Native Commissioner, Herbert Nassau Hemans (1871–1935) the Sanyati River was also the boundary between Sebungwe Region and Lomagundi Region ( Makonde Region).^[9]

At the formation of Tribal Trust Lands (TTLs), Sebungwe was designated as one of the TTLs within the region, situated between Gokwe TTL and Gandavaroyi TTL, with Omay TTL to the northwest and Rengwe TTL to the northeast. The Sebungwe TTL's southern end was bordered by the Sanyati and Ngondoma rivers, adjacent to Zhombe TTL.^[10]

Administrative issues

Following Zimbabwe's independence, the Tribal Trust Lands were reorganized into Communal Lands. During this process, some TTLs were merged into single Communal Lands, while others retained their identity under new names. Sebungwe TTL was redesignated as Nembudziya Communal Land, encompassing areas such as Mashame, Tshoda, Kuwirira, and Goredema's Mudzongwe area - the original home of the Njelele community in Chief Gumbero's territory^[11] ,^[12] among others formerly part of Sebungwe TTL.

The Rural District Councils Act of 1988, implemented in July 1993, amalgamated local authorities responsible for commercial and communal farming areas within each district into Rural District Councils.^[13] The Act also led to changes in district boundaries, resulting in some districts being divided into two, as was the case when Gokwe was split into North and South districts.

Current status

According to available information, Sebungwe is identified as a small river located at coordinates -17.86462°, 27.17522°, situating it in the Binga area of Matabeleland North^[14]. Sebungwe is also a place, (not a region), marked as a diamond occurrence in the Middle Zambezi Basin, Binga District, which is actually Sebungwe District by any other name^[15][16]. Sebungu is also marked as a coal occurrence not far from the Sebungwe diamond site.

However, the term "Sebungwe Region" is also used to describe a broader region, encompassing areas from Binga to Kariba, including parts of Gokwe North District, as referenced by wildlife conservation organisations such as the Cheetah Conservation Initiative^[17] and the Sebungwe Regional Concept Plan.

See also

• Gokwe region
• Gokwe North
• Land reform in Zimbabwe

References

1. "Connectivity Counts: Establishing a Conservation and Development Hub in Sebungwe". Cheetah Conservation Initiative. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
2. Misheck Samanyanga (2019-09-19). "The birth of Gokwe (GK)". Zimtribes. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
3. "Location of the Sebungwe Region in North-Western Zimbabwe" (PNG). ResearchGate. ResearchGate. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
4. "Sebungwe District map" (JPEG). Zimbabwe Field Guide. Zimbabwe Field Guide. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
5. "Southern Rhodesia Map (now Zimbabwe) — Salisbury/Harare railways — Johnston, 1912". Alamy. 1912. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
6. "Kavira Forest Area". OpenStreetMap. 2026. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
7. "Southern Rhodesia 1927 map at 1 : 1 000 000 scale" (JPG). Window on Rhodesia. Weyer, Colin. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
8. Map, Sebungu & Mafumgabusi [Africa] (Webp) (Map). Royal Geographical Society (England). 1901. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
9. "A Native Commissioner's life in the Sebungwe District prior to World War I". Zimbabwe Field Guide. Zimbabwe Field Guide. Retrieved 21 January 2026. The boat was now unloaded and the crew instructed to return to Binga; a journey that would take up to three weeks as they would have to punt upriver against the Zambesi's current. Getting to the Kariba Gorge entailed a march of 17 miles (27 kms) over two days and crossing the Biribiri (Biriwiri) river and camping on the west bank of the Sanyati river, the boundary between the Sebungwe and Lomagundi Districts.
10. "Sheet SE-35-4" (Map). Rhodesia (Copper Queen). 1:250,000. Rhodesia 1:250,000 map series. Cartography by Surveyor-General of Rhodesia. Salisbury: Surveyor-General of Rhodesia. 1970. Sebungwe Tribal Trust Land (17°25′S 28°54′E). Retrieved 15 January 2026.
11. "Understanding the Emergence and Solving of Protracted Social Conflicts in Zimbabwe: the Case of Gumbero/Chisina – Njelele Chieftainship Conflict 1940-2015". SAS Publishers. Retrieved 15 January 2026. 'Chief Gumbero later transferred the Njelele group to Nyarupakwe at a place known as Kadzongwana ..."
12. "Sheet SE-35-12" (Map). Rhodesia (Que Que). 1:250,000. Rhodesia 1:250,000 map series. Cartography by Surveyor-General of Rhodesia. Salisbury: Surveyor-General of Rhodesia. 1970. Mudzongwe School, Goredema Tribal Trust Land (18°01′S 29°05′E). Retrieved 15 January 2026.
13. Mapedza, Everisto; Mandondo, Alois (October 2002). "Co-management in the Mafungautsi State Forest Area of Zimbabwe - What Stake for Local Communities?". Environmental Governance in Africa. Retrieved 14 January 2026. The latter were an important source of information on the administrative background of Gokwe South District, from the time it was part of a much larger area known as the Sebungwe Region up to the partition of Gokwe District into Gokwe South and North in July 1993.
14. "Sebungwe River". Mindat.org. Hudson Institute of Mineralogy. 2025. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
15. "Binga District (Sebungwe District), Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe". Mindat.org. Binga District (Sebungwe District), Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe: Hudson Institute of Mineralogy. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
16. Mineral Resources of Zimbabwe: Base Metal and Industrial Mineral Deposits (PDF) (Map). 1:1,000,000. Geological Survey Mineral Resources Series. Harare: Geological Survey of Zimbabwe. 1988. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
17. "Connectivity Counts: Establishing a Conservation and Development Hub in Sebungwe". Cheetah Conservation Initiative. Retrieved 21 January 2026.