The Relationship Between Resettled Families and the Hosting Community in Sedze, Zimbabwe (2000-2013)

Abstract

This study focuses on the years between 2000 and the year 2013 were the Sedze community has gone through the process of new families being resettled on their land by the District Administrator’s office. The move to parcel out pieces of land by the District Administrator was done without consultation with the local leadership. Land that was allocated to the new families prior to their settlement used to serve as a pool grazing area for the whole Sedze community. Now due to human settlements land use has since changed from grazing land to both residential and farmland. The host community of Sedze through their local leadership stand united against the new settlers who they view as disrespectful showing no respect for traditional leadership. The new families are also accused of violating the laws of the land by indiscriminately chopping down the Muhacha tree which is believed to be a tree of the ancestors by the host community of Sedze. The study reviews literature guided by the social identity theory and the African philosophy of Ubuntu. It probes the applicability of concept of Ubuntu in a highly competitive world arguing instead that in exercising Ubuntu due to competition and other global factors, individuals and communities have actually ended up forming groups in the social strata determining their interaction with each other. The study probes the concept of identity informed by Tajfel and Turner and also attempts to define that which constitutes a community. Qualitative research methodology was used for data gathering due to its ability to provide the researcher with the opportunity to identify patterns and behaviors of both the resettled families and the host community in Sedze. Data was gathered through the use of in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Participants were sampled through the use of purposive sampling and snowball sampling methods. Major findings of the research include the realization that lack of consultation in the execution of government policy results in the creation of conflict between the communities under study. The study recommends that parties to the conflict in Sedze find a common ground for the betterment of the Sedze community.