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desecrating their ancestral shrine while erecting a base station on Sviba Hills. Chief Murinye and Chief Mugabe accused the mobile phone operator of defiling a traditional shrine by exhuming human remains and destroying relics from the shrine.
The two chiefs last month made an urgent chamber application seeking to stop the project.
In the chamber application before High Court judge Justice Joseph Musakwa, the chiefs said Sviba Hills was a burial site and place of worship for the Duma people.
They argued that the traditional customary rites preserved at Sviba Hills had been exposed to desecration by the construction of the base station.
Justice Musakwa then reserved judgment when the case was heard last month.
Sviba Hills are near the Great Zimbabwe monuments and house sacred caves where successive Murinye and Mugabe chiefs were buried.
The Murinye and Mugabe of the Duma clan conduct appeasement and rain-making ceremonies there.
The chiefs yesterday said Econet Wireless should appear before a traditional court and pay compensation to appease the Murinye and Mugabe ancestors whose remains were excavated when the booster was being installed.
Chiefs Ephias Munodawafa and Matubede Mudavanhu said Econet would appear before Chief Shumba of Masvingo Central.
Chief Shumba — Mr Mugaviri Chikava — was chosen by the two chiefs to preside over the case as a neutral arbiter.
“We have summoned Econet Wireless to appear before a traditional court on December 5 this year at Chamakondo Traditional Court in Masvingo Central.
“We are demanding that Econet compensate us for desecrating our sacred shrines in Sviba Hills.”
Said Chief Murinye: “We are demanding to be paid 2 000 head of cattle by Econet Wireless and all these cattle should be white in colour.
“Econet Wireless should also buy some special cloths, which we are going to use to appease our ancestors.”
He said they would soon send their summons to Econet Wireless to appear before the traditional court.
“We would have loved the matter to be set down for hearing before Chief Shumba as early as possible, but we are currently in the sacred month of November.
“We feel that it will not be proper for such cases where compensation will have to be paid to be heard so we settled for next month,” Chief Murinye said.
Chief Mugabe said the Mugabe and Murinye people were bitter with Econet Wireless.
“We are the custodians of our sacred shrines and we should not be seen to be failing our people because we are bitter with what Econet Wireless did to our sacred shrines in Sviba Hills where our ancestors are buried.
“Those shrines are sacred and they were not supposed to be desecrated.”
He said the chiefs did not want Econet Wireless to appear before them, as they are interested parties.
“We decided to ask Chief Shumba to preside over the case as a neutral person,” Chief Mugabe said.
He said desecration of sacred shrines was not acceptable as it would result in plagues like diseases and famine.
Chief Shumba confirmed that Econet Wireless had been summoned to appear before his court next month.
“It is true that I will hear a case in which my fellow two chiefs are seeking compensation from Econet Wireless.
“As aggrieved persons, they told me the compensation which they want, but I cannot disclose that to you.
“We will actually determine the appropriate compensation after hearing the case,’’ he said.
Chief Shumba said they would take appropriate steps if the network provider failed to attend court.
He refused to disclose the action.
Econet Wireless spokesperson Mr Ranga Mberi could not comment on the matter.
“We are unable to comment on the matter, as there is a court case on that issue,’’ Mr Mberi said.
Econet Wireless had, however, argued in the High Court case that the chiefs had known since July 2010 that the company had been granted permission to set up the base station by the Masvingo Rural District Council.
The firm concurred that its activities culminated in the exposure of human remains.
leeroy