Incompetence Exposed As Rusape Residents Consume Sewage Contaminated Water

By Shingirai Vambe

Rusape, a town long troubled by political infighting, personal power struggles and administrative incompetence, has once again found itself in the spotlight, this time for a crisis that directly endangered residents’ health. For days, households in Vengere consumed water contaminated with raw sewage, a development that has raised serious concerns about the town’s governance system, the competence of acting officials, and the lack of accountability within council structures.

What began as murmurs on community WhatsApp groups quickly escalated into widespread panic as residents complained of water that smelled of sewage and caused stomach discomfort. Instead of immediate transparency or public warnings, council chose silence, leaving residents exposed and uninformed.

Rusape has, for months, dominated news headlines for all the wrong reasons. The council chambers have turned into battlegrounds of factional fights, suspensions, and accusations of political engineering. Councillors, the council chairperson and the town secretary have repeatedly been accused of manipulating systems, targeting senior officials, and firing or suspending employees, often on dubious grounds.

The on-going case of the suspended Housing Director, Tekwa and Former Acting Town Secretary Togarapi Nerwande, is one of the cases, the Chairman, Lovemore Chifomboti is cited as the complainant.

The most recent example is the case of the Town Engineer, who was controversially suspended by councillors only to be later cleared of wrongdoing by a tribunal. Council Chairperson Lovemore Chifomboti publicly confirmed the suspension, yet the same leadership failed to prevent what is arguably one of the most negligent incidents in the town’s history.

The sewage contamination scandal now casts a darker shadow over an administration whose priorities appear to lean more toward settling personal scores than delivering essential services.

A deeper investigation by The Post on Sunday has revealed that raw sewage was pumped directly from Rusape River into the municipal treatment system, contaminating clarifiers, filters and the main sump at the Town Water Works.

A council official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the shocking details.

“The guys pumped raw sewage from a pool on Rusape River further down from the usual abstraction point at the weir. It contaminated the clarifiers, filters and the sump. You can imagine, there are operators 24/7, yet the issue was not corrected. I don’t know if they raised concerns and were overruled. But they still went ahead and pumped that sewage to Vengere residents.”

Residents’ complaints started pouring in soon after, with many reporting that what flowed from their taps smelled like raw sewage. Some experienced stomach pains, while others initially dismissed the incident as a temporary water quality glitch, unaware of the scale of contamination.

One official told this publication that they too only realised the severity after receiving multiple calls from residents.

For many in Rusape, this disaster is the clearest proof yet of the rot in local governance. A resident who contacted this publication expressed deep frustration.

“That’s what happens when you appoint unqualified and undeserving individuals to demanding posts. Rusape has become a symbol of how poor leadership and unchecked power can erode public service.”

The incident reveals not just operational failure but also a governance collapse, where acting officials, political manoeuvres, and internal power struggles take precedence over basic service delivery.

Despite the magnitude of the crisis, council has not issued a formal public apology or detailed explanation. Residents were not warned to stop drinking the water, nor were they offered alternatives. Instead, silence and denial prevailed, deepening mistrust between the community and those meant to serve it.

This is not the first time Rusape’s council has come under fire over governance failures. Repeated allegations of corruption, tribal alignments, interference in administrative procedures, and politicisation of appointments have left the town’s development agenda in disarray.