Govt orders council to evict 300 Airport Road property owners to make way for VP Chiwenga and Catholic Church.
INTERVIEWER: Can you explain how this land dispute started?
RESPONDENT:
We bought our land from the City of Harare in 2018. We paid the full amount, including the intrinsic land value, and each of us received an Agreement of Sale. There are about 300 members in our cooperative, and we were allocated stands along Airport Road, opposite One Commando Barracks, near St Martin’s.
After completing our payments, we began preparing to service and develop the land. But later, we discovered that the City Council had also offered the same land to the Catholic University.
INTERVIEWER: So now both you and the Catholic University are being told you own the same land?
RESPONDENT:
Exactly. City Council sold the land to us first, but years later they offered the same land to the Catholic University. Recently, we were served with papers accusing us of illegal occupation, even though we have valid agreements of sale and receipts.
People have already started building, and contractors are working on sewer and water connections. Now, we are being told that the Vice President, Rtd. Dr. C.D.G.N. Chiwenga, who is Catholic, is pushing for the land to be transferred to the Catholic University for a project called a Medical Hub.
They are even saying we should be moved to a farm in Beatrice, which makes no sense because this land is private property that was sold to us by Council. It’s not state land, so government has no right to repossess it.
INTERVIEWER: You mentioned a letter dated 20 October. What does it say?
RESPONDENT:
Yes — this is the letter that changed everything. It’s from the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, signed by Dr. J. Basera, the Secretary for Local Government and Public Works. It’s addressed to Eng. Mabhehna Moyo, the Town Clerk of Harare, and copied to His Worship, the Mayor, Councillor J. Mafume.
The letter’s subject line reads:
“REQUEST FOR HANDOVER OF LAND BOUND BY CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY TO THE SOUTH, JOSHUA N. NKOMO ROAD (AIRPORT ROAD) TO THE EAST, VITALIS ZVINAVASHE ROAD (DIEPPE ROAD) TO THE NORTH AND SEKE ROAD TO THE WEST (EXCLUDING EXISTING (OLD) ST MARTINS SUBURB); – TO GOVERNMENT FOR PURPOSES OF ESTABLISHING A MEDICAL HUB.”
The letter says, and I quote:
“This letter follows the several meetings conducted and chaired by the Honourable Vice President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Rtd. Dr. C.D.G.N. Chiwenga, in respect of the proposed medical hub to be established in the area as defined above. Following the last meeting held on Tuesday, 14 October 2025, at which the handover of the land was discussed, I hereby formally request Council to immediately facilitate freeing up of all encumbrances on the property and to urgently transfer same to Government.”
It then adds that:
“Government will compensate City of Harare with 36 hectares of land at Kimcote Farm. In due course, valuations may be conducted to ensure fair value of compensation. Given the urgency of this matter, may you expedite the transfer so that the project may take off.”
That’s the key part — it explicitly says “freeing up of all encumbrances,” which means they want to remove us from our land.
INTERVIEWER: How large is the land?
RESPONDENT:
It’s quite large — about 300 stands, all properly allocated by City Council. Every buyer has an agreement of sale and payment receipts.
INTERVIEWER: What was your progress in developing the stands?
RESPONDENT:
We paid our development fees, and City Council was managing the project. We even bought sewer and water materials that Council kept for us — but later, we found they had used our materials elsewhere.
We reported it to the police. During an interview, the Director of Housing and Town Planning admitted that Council had diverted our material to another project and promised to replace it. They never did. That’s why servicing was delayed.
Now, Council is using that delay as a pretext to say the land is idle and should be transferred to government.
INTERVIEWER: So, this is what you call a double allocation?
RESPONDENT:
Yes. This is a double allocation — which is fraudulent. City Council cannot hold meetings and reallocate land that was already sold and paid for.
And the Vice President cannot direct that land which is not state land be handed over to government. The Constitution is clear — private property cannot be taken over without compensation and consent.
INTERVIEWER: What action are you taking?
RESPONDENT:
We are urgently preparing court papers. We have all documentation proving ownership — agreements of sale, receipts, and payment records. Some people have already built structures, others are still developing.
We’ve written to the authorities to highlight that the land handover is illegal and unconstitutional. We believe Council is cooperating with the Ministry to cover up the missing materials they took from us.
INTERVIEWER: And what are you hoping to achieve by going public?
RESPONDENT:
We just want justice and public awareness. We are 300 legitimate beneficiaries. We bought this land lawfully in 2018. We paid everything required by City Council.
Now we are being threatened with eviction simply because of political influence. If this goes through, it means no private property in Zimbabwe is safe — anyone can lose their land if someone powerful wants it.
That’s why we are appealing to the public and the media to help expose this abuse of power before people are displaced.We bought this land in 2015 and we have all documentation pertaining to the land. We are against illegal evictions.Buying land in Harare mazuvano kutamba kandege
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