Temba Mliswa, the former Independent Member of Parliament (MP) for Norton Constituency, has announced that he has become a village head in Mliswa Village located in Shurugwi, Midlands Province. He expressed his excitement about taking on this role and promised to bring development to the village.
In a series of X posts seen by Pindula News, Mliswa said he is doing this to honour his father’s wishes of keeping the Mliswa family name and tradition alive. He emphasised that being a village head is not an elected position but a matter of family lineage. He said:
Now that I’m no longer time pressed with politics I will keep the family name and tradition going. This is for my Dad who always said the Mliswa line will never die out. I will keep it going. You don’t get elected for this but it’s a blood-line issue.
I’m excited to take up this role& bring development to my village. As traditional leaders we are not allowed to be partisan so I will abide by that. I invite you all to Mliswa village, Shurugwi & its great people. We shall be a model village leading development from the bottom.On the 10th of February I will invite people to the village ceremony.
Mliswa’s niece, Maria Dube, who had been serving as interim village head, explained in a sworn statement seen by Pindula News that her declining health prompted her decision to step down. Mliswa assured that the salary he receives as village head would be given to her as she needs it more.
While some observers speculate that Mliswa’s move is a strategic one to eventually return to Parliament, Mliswa emphasised that his primary focus is to lead the development of Mliswa village. He lost his bid to retain the Norton seat in the August 23-24 harmonised elections. He was defeated by Richard Tsvangirai, the son of the late former Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, Morgan Tsvangirai.
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