African (shona) axe?

[katana]

Just got this axe, ( my first one ) described as approx, a century old (1908), wire work is aluminium.
Was aluminium available in Africa at this time? I am assuming that it was, but would have been relatively scarce. (high status axe? Or did aluminium have a ‘mystical’ properties?).
The blade is narrow and suggests that it was not designed for utilitarian tasks, so would it be considered a war axe.?