Marondera

It was first known as Marandella's Kraal, corrupted from Marondera, chief of the ruling VaRozvi people who lived in the area. British colonialist as they were colonizing Zimbabwe, first used it as a rest stop on the way to Harare. Later destroyed in the Shona resistance of 1896, the town was moved 4 miles (6 km) north to the Beira–Bulawayo railway line.

Constituted a village in 1913, it became a town in 1943. During the South African (Boer) War it was used by the British as a staging point for military operations into the Transvaal, and in World War II it was a refuge for displaced Poles.

The indigenous population is mostly Shona. = Demographics == The town is multi-cultural, with a variety of ethnic groups. Within the African population is a proportion of people of Malawian origin whose parents migrated and took employment on the white owned tobacco farms. The main faiths in Marondera are secular traditional Christians, evangelicals and mapostori (a sect of old testament bible followers who live like ancient prophets and may dress in white robes). Islam is practised by a small number of people in Marondera Asians and those people of Malawian descent. The indigenous people of Marondera descend mainly from the Shona royal families of Svosve, and the nearby royal households of Chikwaka , Nyashanu and others royal family lives there the Mashonganyika family etc. They are traditionally farmers. Marondera has several very good schools, which have been in operation for many years. The junior schools include Godfrey Huggins, Tapfuma School, Dombotombo School, Springvale House, Digglefold,R.G Mugabe Primary School, Nyamei Primary School, Ruware Primary School and Ruzawi School and the senior schools are Marondera High School, Peterhouse Boys' School, Peterhouse Girls' School, Rakodzi High, Watershed College, Nyameni High, Cherutombo High, Chitepo Secondary, Bernard Mizeki College, Waddilove High School & Nagle House. The first black mayor of Marondera was T. K. Muronda in 1980.[1]

Marondera also boasts presence of private and public learning institutions such as Kushinga Phikelela Polytechnic to the east, along the Harare-Mutare road; University of Zimbabwe College of Agricultural Sciences located near Masomera Business Centre; and Umaa Institute owned by the educationist-cum-politician Cleopas Kundiona.

Marondera is home to many schools and colleges: