Magwegwe
Named after Magwegwe Fuyana, senior induna in Lobengula's royal Bulawayo.
Magwegwe is named after a man who stood close to the king. Magwegwe Fuyana was one of Lobengula’s senior indunas, described by The Herald as his chief councillor and elsewhere as “one of the significant people in King Lobengula’s royal Bulawayo town.”
A name from the first Bulawayo
One account of the first royal town, Old Bulawayo, says that when Lobengula moved his capital in 1881 it was Magwegwe who led the burning of the old town, as custom required when the court moved on. Magwegwe North and Magwegwe West take their names from this suburb.
What we don’t know yet
What do you know of Magwegwe Fuyana, or of Magwegwe the place? If his story is told in your family, we would be honoured to hear it.
Sources
- Bulawayo’s suburb names, A to M
- ‘Suburbs, street names origin explained’, The Herald (Zimbabwe)
- F. Q. Mabikwa, ‘Tracing the roots: How Bulawayo’s townships reflect city’s rich Ndebele heritage’, The Herald, 2 November 2024
- Zimbabwe Field Guide, ‘Gubulawayo, or Old Bulawayo (1870–1881)’
Do you know more about this? Corrections, photographs and your own account are all welcome, and a correction is published on the page with the date it was made. Send something in.