State House
Former namesGovernment House
General information
TypeOfficial residence
Town or cityHarare
CountryZimbabwe
Coordinates17°48′43″S 31°03′29″E / 17.81194°S 31.05806°E / -17.81194; 31.05806
Current tenantsPresident of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa
Completed1910
OwnerGovernment of Zimbabwe
Design and construction
Architect(s)Detmar Jellings Blow
Main contractorWilliam Cubitt & Co

State House, formerly known as Government House, is the official residence of the President of Zimbabwe and is located in Harare, Zimbabwe. It was previously used by the Administrator of Southern Rhodesia, Governor of Southern Rhodesia and the Governor-General of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in addition to being occupied by the internationally unrecognised Rhodesian Officer Administering the Government and later President of Rhodesia. It was constructed in 1910 to a design by Detmar Blow in the Cape Dutch revival style.

History

The Residency, 1895–1923

The Residency on the corner of Baines Avenue and Second Street was constructed in 1895 by Edward Arthur Maund as the home of the Resident Commissioner of the British South Africa Company that governed Rhodesia under Company rule to replace the Old Government House.[1] The Residency was purchased outright by the Company in 1901 for £3,500.[2] It shared the official government residence status in Rhodesia with Government House in Bulawayo which was constructed as the home of the founder of Rhodesia, Cecil Rhodes in 1897.[3] After the residency ceased use by the commissioner in 1923, it retained its use as an official residence for prominent political leaders in Southern Rhodesia including: Attorney-General Robert Hudson (1924–1932), Minister of Agriculture Frank Ernest Harris (1933–1942), Chief Justice Sir Robert Hudson (1943–1946), Minister of Mines George Arthur Davenport (1946–1950), Minister John Moore Caldicott (1950–1963) and Minister The Duke of Montrose (1963–1968).[4]

Government House, 1910–1980

Government House was designed to be the residence of the Administrator of Southern Rhodesia, in contrast to the nearby residency occupied by the Company Commissioner, and was built in 1910 in the Cape Dutch revival style by English architect Detmar Jellings Blow, who although never visiting southern Africa himself worked on designs for the Statue of Jan van Riebeeck in Cape Town and extensions for Government House, Bulawayo at the same time.[5] The construction was undertaken by William Cubitt & Co.[6]

Government House was the home of the Administrator of Southern Rhodesia (1910–1923), the Governor of Southern Rhodesia (1923–1953; 1963–1969; 1979–1980) and the Governor-General of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (1953–1963).[7] During the Federation, the Governor of Southern Rhodesia resided in Governor's Lodge in the suburb of Highlands.[8]

Following Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence on 11 November 1965, the Governor of Southern Rhodesia Sir Humphrey Gibbs refused to leave the building to recognise the Rhodesian government as he declared he had dismissed them when they declared independence but the government continued to meet claiming they had abolished the Governor's office.[9] The Prime Minister of Rhodesia Ian Smith asked Gibbs to leave Government House but Gibbs refused, citing he was still legally the Governor and the Queen's representative.[10] On the day of UDI, Rhodesian Army officers approached Gibbs in Government House asking for a warrant to arrest Smith but Gibbs declined to issue one.[11] In response Rhodesian authorities removed his official cars and any signposts nearby bearing the name of "Governor's office".[12] They also cut off telephones and electricity to Government House and only addressed letters to it as "Stand 8060, Salisbury" by refusing to call it Government House.[12] They sent Gibbs monthly Rh£800 bills for rent which he refused to pay as the Rhodesian authorities also stopped his salary.[13][14][12] Gibbs survived on donations from his Rhodesian supporters.[12] Gibbs would continue to fly the Union Jack from the house as a symbol of defiance to Smith, who lived in Independence House opposite Government House.[12] Gibbs would only leave in 1969 after resigning following Rhodesia voting to become a republic.[13]

After Gibbs left, Clifford Dupont moved in as the Rhodesian recognised representative of the Queen as Officer Administering the Government and later President of Rhodesia when the republic was established on 2 March 1970 at Government House.[15][16] Government House continued to serve as the location for official Rhodesian state events.[17]

State House, 1980–present

Following the independence of Zimbabwe, it was renamed "State House" and was used as the house of the President of Zimbabwe.[18][19] During his time in office, Zimbabwe's first President Canaan Banana was accused of engaging in homosexual rape on several members of staff in State House.[20] His replacement Robert Mugabe moved in after Banana's fall as a result of the accusations. Following an attack on Mugabe's residence in 1982, a 6pm curfew was introduced to prevent any traffic passing in front of State House, this was removed in 2017.[21] In 2006, Mugabe moved his personal residence from State House to a newly constructed mansion in the Borrowdale suburb.[22] State House was retained as the location for official receptions.[23] In 2011, a report from 2008 was leaked alleging that State House was being used as a location by the Central Intelligence Organisation for state torture and abductions.[24]

In 2016, Mugabe unveiled a 12 foot tall statue of himself in the grounds of State House.[25] After Mugabe was removed from office, it was reported that he left State House in a poor condition that was so bad it prevented his successor Emmerson Mnangagwa from moving in.[23][26]

References

  1. ↑ Jackson, Peter (1986). Historic Buildings of Harare, 1890–1940. Quest Publishing. p. 100. ISBN 9780908306022.
  2. ↑ Government of Southern Rhodesia (1924). Official Year Book of Southern Rhodesia (1st ed.). Central Statistical Office. p. 303. ASIN B0040GHGXY.
  3. ↑ Msindo, Enocent (2012). Ethnicity in Zimbabwe. University of Rochester Press. p. 136. ISBN 9781580464185.
  4. ↑ "Harare's Historic buildings – the Avenues - The Residency (1895)". Zimfieldguide.com. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  5. ↑ "BLOW, Detmar Jellings". Artefacts.co.za. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  6. ↑ "Copy of a photograph showing an exterior view of Government House during its construction". Historic England. September 1910. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  7. ↑ Government of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (1960). "Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland Newsletter". No. 27–52. Nyasaland: Federal Information Department. p. 4. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  8. ↑ East Africa and Rhodesia, Volume 42, Africana, 1965, pages 339, 464
  9. ↑ "Rhodesia issues unilateral declaration of independence". The Guardian. 12 November 1965. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  10. ↑ "Mr Smith tells Governor to move out". The Guardian. 13 November 1965. Retrieved 19 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 "Hundreds of Rhodesians, black and white, helping Sir Humphrey pay bills". The Glens Falls Times. 5 November 1966. Retrieved 19 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. 1 2 "Queen's man resigns". The Age. 26 June 1969. Retrieved 19 January 2021 – via Google News.
  14. ↑ "Sir Humphrey Gibbs; Britain's last Governor of Rhodesia". Los Angeles Times. 11 November 1990. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  15. ↑ "Humphrey Gibbs, 87, of Rhodesia And a Foe of White Rebels, Dies". New York Times. 8 November 1990. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  16. ↑ "1970: Ian Smith declares Rhodesia a republic". BBC News. 2 March 1991. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  17. ↑ "4 Black Cabinet Ministers Take the Oath in Rhodesia". New York Times. 29 April 1976. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  18. ↑ "'They say that power corrupts – and it does'". The Guardian. 23 January 2002. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  19. ↑ "Rival factions receive equal army positions". Calgary Herald. 18 April 1981. Retrieved 19 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "Canaan Banana, president jailed in sex scandal, dies". The Guardian. 11 November 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  21. ↑ "Mnangagwa to lift restrictions on travelling past State House at night". Eyewitness News. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  22. ↑ "Mugabe's mansion sealed off". The Zimbabwe Independent. 24 March 2006. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  23. 1 2 "Mugabes left official residences in 'terrible state'". News24. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  24. ↑ "CIO offices, torture centres exposed". The Zimbabwean. 14 October 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  25. ↑ "Robert Mugabe statue: Zimbabwe sculptor denies mocking president". BBC News. 12 September 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  26. ↑ newsday (17 April 2018). "State House under major renovations". Newsday. Retrieved 19 January 2021.

See also

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