Epworth settlement lies about 15km south east of Harare and sits on a land mass of 36 square kilometres and is bounded by Harare to the north, west and south and Ruwa and Goromonzi Rural District to the East. The settlement started in the late 19th century during the time when Methodist missionaries arrived in Zimbabwe as part of the British South Africa Company (BSAC) led pioneer column. The Methodist Church led by a Rev. Shimmin established their mission station in Epworth farm and later on acquired two more farms in the area namely Glenwood and Adelaide. Prior to the establishment of the local authority in 1986, there were 2 main villages, that is, Chiremba and Chizungu. The population of Epworth increased dramatically during the war of liberation when refugees fleeing from the countryside flocked to Epworth. The need for appropriate urban services on the increased population put pressure on the church authorities which ended up donating the greater part of Epworth (Lot 2 of Epworth) as well as Adelaide and Glenwood farms to the government. After the handover of the land, the government established the Epworth Local Government Area/ Local Board with a mandate to regularise and upgrade Epworth to urban standards.

The 2012 national census put the population of Epworth at about 167,200 making it the fifth largest urban settlement in terms of population size, (National Census Report, 2012). Current estimates put the total population for Epworth at just above 200,000 people, 60% of which live in informal or squatter settlements locally known as ʻMagadaʼ while the remainder constitutes formally settled families who are known as ʻOriginalsʼ as they are predominantly descendants of the pioneer residents. The Epworth settlement is divided into seven (7) administrative wards that are represented by elected councillors.