The government is finally working to tackle illegal settlers and village chiefs who have been selling state land, with 250 people arrested and charged in Masvingo last week alone, The Mirror can reveal.
The arrested suspects spend a night in overcrowded Masvingo Central Police cells before being taken to court for remand the next day.
The action appears to follow a recent strong warning by President Mnangagwa to local authorities that the land belongs to the state and anyone who sells it will face the full wrath of the law.
The arrests are being made under ‘Operation Order No. Land Barons’ and the suspects are charged with contravening Section 3(1) of the Lands (Consequent Provisions) Act Chapter 20:28 as read with Section 5 Occupation Official Gazette Land without legal authority.
Masvingo State Minister for Provincial Affairs, Ezra Chadzamira, confirmed the operation and said it would run from January 10 to February 9, 2024. Currently, most of the arrested suspects are from within a 20-kilometre radius of Masvingo’s Central Business District (CBD).
The defendants will appear before Judge Elizabeth Hanzi and a trial date will be set for them.
Since 2000, Zimbabwe has been plagued by illegal settlements, particularly in resettlement areas where some leaders have made thousands sell state land. Just before his death, the then Minister of Lands, retired Air Marshal Perence Shiri, issued a notice to all illegal settlers to vacate within seven days, but the notice was not followed up after his death.
Illegal settlements in Masvingo are seriously threatening Lake Mtirikwe with silt-up, while people in resettlement areas are running out of grazing land especially under Chief Musara. In cities, land lords have created informal settlements without roads, water or electricity while many settlements are located on wetlands.
Chadzamira said those settled in watershed areas, wetlands, grazing lands and agricultural lands should vacate the lands immediately and apply for the lands properly when he launched the campaign in his office last Friday.
“Illegal settlers have occupied watershed areas, wetlands, pastures and farmlands, affecting productivity and threatening dams and rivers with siltation. If you have illegally settled in the above-mentioned areas in Masvingo, we advise you to evacuate immediately and follow due process in obtaining On the ground”.
Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Dr Anchius Masuka, said illegal settlements would not be regulated and those who would have been caught should move elsewhere when he launched the national operation in Harare recently.
“It is a criminal offence, according to the Zimbabwe Land Commission Act [Chapter 20: 29] And lands published in the Official Gazette (Subsequent Provisions Law) [Chapter 20:28]Any person may occupy state lands without legal authority in the form of a permit, offer letter or lease.
“The government will not regulate those who settle on state land without procedurally issued tenure documents. The full wrath of the law will be applied in such cases of illegal settlements,” Masuka warned.
Cases of village chiefs and chiefs dividing land for about US$300 are common in peri-urban areas of Masvingo. Masvingo mirror
