Harare Harare Harare (; officially named Salisbury until 1982) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 960.6 km (371 mi) and an estimated population of 1,606,000 in 2009, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area in 2006. Situated in northeastern Zimbabwe in the country's Mashonaland region, Harare is a metropolitan province, which also incorporates the municipalities of Chitungwiza and Epworth. The city sits on a plateau at an elevation of above sea level and its climate falls into the subtropical highland category. The city was founded in 1890 by the Pioneer Column, a
Second round of voting in the 2008 Zimbabwean presidential election political violence were detained at a roadblock in the town of Bindura, from Harare, by police and military officers. It was claimed by those in the convoy that they were forced off the road at gunpoint after refusing to go to a police station. They reported that tyres on the vehicles were slashed and a Zimbabwean driver was attacked. None of the diplomats was harmed. A police spokesman claimed the officials were being rescued from a dangerous mob. The US government said the attack was "absolutely outrageous" and, along with the UK government, asked for an explanation of the incident.