09/06/2026
SAMURIWO, ONE OF THE RICHEST BLACKS, FIRST RESIDENT IN MARIMBA PARK IN 1960
The legend of Kwa Samuriwo in Mufakose
By Fanuel Viriri
One of the most successful black businessmen in colonial Rhodesia was Isaac Hanzi Samuriwo, the first resident of then exclusive Marimba Park established in 1960. Marimba Park was established exclusively for the small but emerging wealthy black elite.
Samuriwo is touted as one of the richest blacks in Rhodesia who defied segregatory odds back then.
Black business people faced several challenges in running enterprises in Rhodesia, mainly because of restrictions imposed by the colonial authorities. To protect white business interests, the colonial government introduced strict trading licences and regulations that confined black entrepreneurs largely to retail and transport businesses, especially in rural areas.
Despite these obstacles, Samuriwo thrived and overcame many of the barriers to establish his business in the urban area. His legacy lives on today through the shopping centre in Mufakose, popularly known known as kwa Samuriwo. He was the first to establish retail shops at the shopping centre in Mufakose's Cherima area.
According to business researcher and historian Volker Wild, Isaac Samuriwo was among the richest black men in Rhodesia. He was the son of Chief Samuriwo of Marandelas (Marondera), a polygamous chief reported to have had 35 wives and 99 children and ruled for 45 years. Chief Samuriwo is reported to have appointed a regent as as teenager in 1891.
Isaac was born in Chihota in 1914 and trained as a builder, and a built a name for himself as a transport operator and shop owner. He was politically and socially ambitious, serving as a Member of Parliament for Magwandi in 1965. Earlier, from 1958 to 1962, he had been a Federal MP — a member of the central parliament of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. He also into property development in later years.
Wild notes in his research on early black businesspeople that Samuriwo was the first resident of Marimba Park, the first low-density suburb created for wealthy blacks in 1960. The suburb was designed to house the emerging black upper class. Some whites later joined this elite black class. The 1–2 acre residential stands were sold for the then-princely sum of £2,500 to £5,000.
