Mayor of Mutare

The mayor and new municipal council replaced the Sanitary Board which had previously governed the settlement.

[3] In 1980, following Zimbabwe's independence, Davidson Jahwi was elected the first black Mayor of Umtali.

In 2005, Mayor Misheck Kagurabadza (MDC–T) was suspended from his position by the Minister of Local Government, Ignatius Chombo.

[4] Mutare, along with other major cities that had seen their democratically elected MDC–T mayors suspended, was governed by a ZANU–PF-dominated special commission until 2008.

[5] He was suspended and then fired in 2008 by Ignatius Chombo, who accused James of mismanagement, misconduct, and insubordination.