Justice Never Katiyo Halts Home Demolitions Across Zimbabwe

By Dr Masimba Mavaza

HARARE – The High Court has halted the demolition of homes across Zimbabwe, declaring a key provision of the Regional, Town, and Country Planning Act unconstitutional. This ruling significantly weakens local authorities that have used the law to justify demolitions of informal housing without due process.

Justice Never Katiyo’s ruling on October 16, 2024, found that Sections 32(2)(c) and (d) and Section 37(1)(a)(i) of the Act violate the constitutional right to protection from arbitrary eviction. The court mandated that local authorities must follow legal procedures, including obtaining court orders before carrying out demolitions.

The ruling arrives amid growing fears of forced evictions, especially in peri-urban areas where informal settlements have proliferated. It requires authorities to prevent illegal construction rather than demolish homes after they are built. The government has been given 12 months to amend the legislation to align with the Constitution.

Since the turn of the millennium, Zimbabwe has faced politically motivated land allocations, with powerful individuals, known as land barons, selling unapproved land to the detriment of ordinary citizens. Many areas have become hotspots of conflict, frequently lacking basic services and planning compliance.

In his first term, President Emmerson Mnangagwa stated that settlements established before 2021 would be regularized, while those established afterward would face demolition. “People must toe the line, and we cannot tolerate lawlessness,” he said during the commissioning of the Dzivarasekwa Flats project in Harare in 2021.

Mnangagwa criticized councils for permitting settlements in disaster-prone areas, such as wetlands, and pledged to crack down on land baron corruption. “My Government is stamping its authority on the scourge of land barons and will leave no stone unturned in efforts to stop this malpractice,” he added. He urged traditional leaders to remain vigilant, stating, “The practice by some unscrupulous village heads to illegally parcel out land in anticipation of urbanization must stop forthwith.”

The problem has continued unabated, particularly as some Harare councillors were accused of parceling out more than 5,000 illegal plots ahead of last year’s harmonized elections. Evidence presented to a commission investigating Harare City Council operations revealed that at least 349 illegal housing cooperatives were hurriedly regularized, with councillors seeking to regularize an additional 5,000 stands to attract voters.

Harare town clerk Hosiah Chisango admitted that councillors were exploiting the land regularization policy for personal gain, noting that land invasions tended to escalate during election years.

The court’s emphasis on legal reforms and due process could potentially provide long-term solutions for residents facing eviction. However, the pervasive influence of politically connected land barons remains a significant concern, especially as many areas continue to see illegal constructions on sensitive sites, including sewer lines and railway corridors and land in close proximity to airports.