Presidential
Affairs and Devolution secretary Tafadzwa Muguti said the individuals claimed
to have the support of the country’s leaders, including President Emmerson
Mnangagwa and his deputies Kembo Mohadi and Constantino Chiwenga.
Addressing
journalists yesterday, Muguti said land barons illegally occupied more than 140
sites across Harare as of last month, including the one earmarked for airport
expansion.
“The President
and the government will not stand aside and watch people enrich themselves
using the name of our principals and the name of the party at large,”Muguti
said.
“And we have
also noticed that the same individuals have now invaded the yellow and red
zones of the (RGM) International Airport.
“We do not care
what position you hold in the party, we do not care what position you hold in
government, as long as you are committing crimes abusing your office and
abusing the name of the President and the Vice-Presidents, please pack your
things and vacate immediately because this is not a civil matter, it is a
security matter, it is a criminal matter and we’ll deal with it decisively.”
In July, The
Standard exposed how Tourism and Hospitality deputy minister Tongai Mnangagwa
sought to regularise the stay of his supporters that illegally settled on land
reserved for the expansion of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
Mnangagwa is
the MP for Hunyani constituency.
According to a
letter addressed to the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) chief
executive officer dated July 2, 2025, Mnangagwa sought the regularisation of
people staying on “part of the land within the airport’s yellow zone”.
The late former
President Robert Mugabe in 2015 ordered the destruction of houses built by
Nyikavanhu Housing Co-operative adjacent to the airport, describing them as not
only an eyesore, but a threat to the development of the airport.
The settlement
along Airport Road was declared illegal as the land is reserved for the
expansion of the international airport.
Muguti said
bigwigs were writing letters with the Zanu PF logo to grab land and ask for
monetary benefits from unsuspecting businesses and individuals.
“And there are
other people who are likewise giving themselves certain powers, writing letters
on behalf of the government. I would like to caution those people that we are
onto them,” he warned.
“This habit
where we are seeing people pegging land and saying that because the government
stopped demolitions, it means now we can sell land, please do not lie to
yourselves.
“I would like
to make it very clear and categorically clear that the Presidential Title Deeds
Programme is not going to be a certificate of authenticity for criminals.”
Muguti urged
land barons and “rogue estate agents” to use proper channels, and procedures
when accessing and/or selling land.
“The law is the
law. It has nothing to do with the judicial system,” he said.
“If an order
for demolition comes from the High Court, it will be implemented because you
will have committed a crime.
“Land is not
bought like sweets on the road.
"Please
stop the habit of selling land and then approach the government for
regularisation.
“It is not
going to happen under the second republic. We do not endorse criminals.”
The government
has in recent years launched several audits to establish the extent of the land
theft in urban areas that followed the chaotic land reform programme two
decades ago, but their findings have never been made public.
Harare has
several illegal settlements created by land barons with links to the ruling
Zanu PF and council interventions, that include demolition of houses, have so
far failed to yield tangible results. Newsday
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