Shurugwi District is located in Midlands Province, southern Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

. It is an important centre for gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 and chrome

Chromium

Chromium is a chemical element which has the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6. It is a steely-gray, lustrous, hard metal that takes a high polish and has a high melting point. It is also odorless, tasteless, and malleable...

 mining, but it is perhaps best known as the home district of the former Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Douglas Smith who owned a farm near Gwenoro Dam. Its principal town is also called Shurugwi

Shurugwi

Shurugwi, formerly Selukwe, a town and administrative centre in Midlands Province, southern Zimbabwe, located about 350 km south of Harare; population 16,138...

.It is located about 30 kilometres from the Midlands Provincial capital Gweru.Shurugwi District encompasses much of the rural areas of Nhema and some parts of Chivi.The district has seen a resurgence of mining activities after the discovery of platinum at Unki which lies a few kilometres just after the Wolfshall Pass(Boterekwa).This has seen the establishment of a large mining complex by Implats(Impala Platinum)and the refurbishing of houses which used to belong to the old Zimasco employees.

Shurugwi district is predominantly occupied by the Karanga ethnic people who form the majority of the population but there are other minorities like Ndebele speaking people in the Rockford small scale purchase farms and the Dlodlo area.Other ethnic people are the few remaining ex-employees of Zimasco who are predominantly of Malawian extraction.

The region is dominated by the Great Dyke which dissects it in the middle.Much of the other areas are made up of poor sandy soils which support subsistence agriculture.

Politically Shurugwi district saw a lot of fighting between Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army fighters and Rhodesian forces which led to significant deaths among the civilian population.It is has remained a predominatly ZANUPF stronghold since independence.

Shurugwi has not escaped the scourge of the AIDS pandemic with many of its youthful people succumbing to the deadly virus.

Shurugwi boasts several higher education instistutions like Hanke Mission,Tongogara High School and Pakame Mission whih date back many years.It has a significant number of highly educated professionals like lawyers,doctors,accountants and others.