The clearances reflect an intensifying campaign by Harare authorities targeting unapproved developments, disputed property transactions, and construction on public infrastructure reserves. City officials maintain that homeowners received prior warnings and that the operations strictly adhered to legal frameworks, including an October 2025 consent order issued by Justice Happias Zhou. However, affected community members assert they followed official council-linked procedures when purchasing their plots. The crisis highlights widespread urban planning disputes, with municipal records revealing that an additional 5,000 houses face potential destruction under dozens of active court orders.
Key points
Displaced residents claim they possessed official documentation and acquired their stands…: Displaced residents claim they possessed official documentation and acquired their stands through council-linked processes before the clearances occurred.
Council spokesperson Stanley Gama argued that the municipality complied with judicial rul…: Council spokesperson Stanley Gama argued that the municipality complied with judicial rulings by targeting only repeatedly warned illegal builders.
Thousands of additional properties across the capital remain at risk as the city enforces…: Thousands of additional properties across the capital remain at risk as the city enforces measures against unauthorized construction.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
Residents who say they legally bought land have seen their homes demolished.
Harare, Zimbabwe – At around 5am on Friday, August 14, Methro Masunga, 28, was jolted awake by the sound of bulldozers and shouting municipal police officers. Outside, earth-moving vehicles were preparing to demolish homes in St Martins Extension, a suburb of Harare.
At first, Masunga thought the machinery had arrived for roadworks. Then she realised her home was among those marked for destruction.
“I thought they were here for some other business, probably land development or road grading; alas, they had been sent to destroy our homes. We tried to understand, but no one would hear us,” Masunga told Al Jazeera.
A single mother of three, Masunga had spent years saving to own a home. She worked part-time cleaning other people’s houses, putting aside what she could to buy a residential stand.
“I worked part-time jobs doing laundry and washing dishes in people’s houses for five years, saving where possible. So, when I came here, I paid the deposit and started monthly contributions,” she said, standing among the…
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