Chivhu


Chivhu is a small town in Zimbabwe, with an estimated population of 10,000 in 2007. It is located south of Harare on the main road south to Masvingo and South Africa.

Name

Enkeldoorn, Chivhu's original name, is an Dutch name meaning "lone thorn". It refers to the tree acacia robusta and implies that a single specimen once grew there. The name was adopted in 1891 but was changed to Chivhu in 1982, on the second anniversary of Zimbabwe's independence. The current name comes from the Shona language and means "anthill".

History

Enkeldoorn was founded by Afrikaans-speaking Boer farmers and settlers in around 1850, and was the first white settlement in Zimbabwe. It became an Afrikaner stronghold in a predominately English-speaking white Rhodesia, giving it the nickname of 'the Republic of Enkeldoorn'.

Economy

Chivhu has an agricultural economy, based in poultry farming and dairy cattle. Beef, pork, maize and millet are also important produce. As more white farmers were expelled from Zimbabwe by the Mugabe government, this once lively agricultural economy has become more endangered.

Famous people

Chivhu/Enkeldoorn is famous for producing cricketers Dirk Viljoen and Gavin Ewing. It is also the ancestral hometown of Andy Blignaut, and Mathias Kanda, a Zimbabwean track athlete who competed in the 1964 Summer Olympic men's marathon. The controversial Grace Mugabe grew up in Chivhu too.
Celebrated Harare lawyer Kudakwashe Chigaazira and prominent businessperson David Gamanya both come from Manyene in Chivhu