Harare’s ongoing demolition campaign has reignited a painful national debate about illegal settlements, land invasions and urban planning.
While authorities have focused their attention on demolishing structures and evicting occupants, a fundamental question remains unanswered: Why are the people who created this crisis still walking free?
The destruction of illegal structures may restore compliance with planning regulations, but demolitions alone will not solve the problem. The real architects of these illegal settlements are not the ordinary families now watching their homes being reduced to rubble.
They are the land barons, corrupt officials, politically connected individuals and fraudulent developers who illegally parceled out land, collected money from desperate home seekers and profited from lawlessness.
Many Zimbabweans who purchased stands did so in good faith. They sold livestock, borrowed money, exhausted savings and invested pension payouts in the hope of securing a home for their families. They were shown offer letters, agreements of sale and other documents that appeared legitimate. Some were assured that their settlements would eventually be regularised. Others were convinced by individuals who presented themselves as having political influence or official authority.
The City of Harare’s own regularisation and demolition report acknowledges that land invasions have often been orchestrated by land barons, politically connected individuals and organised groups who exploit vulnerable citizens. The report further notes cases involving forged documents, illegal allocations and coordinated invasions of land earmarked for schools, roads, wetlands and public amenities.
This is precisely why accountability cannot stop at the bulldozer. Demolishing homes without prosecuting the masterminds merely punishes the final link in a long chain of wrongdoing. It creates the impression that the poor and powerless bear the consequences while those who orchestrated the schemes retain their freedom, wealth and influence.
The public has watched this cycle repeat itself for years. Illegal settlements emerge, stands are sold, houses are built, authorities issue warnings, politicians make promises and eventually demolitions follow. Yet the same names and networks continue to surface. If law enforcement agencies already know who organised the invasions, who collected the money and who produced fraudulent documents, then the logical next step is criminal prosecution.
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The fight against illegal settlements should therefore be accompanied by a comprehensive investigation into every land deal, every housing cooperative, every allocation and every public official who may have facilitated these transactions. Bank accounts should be examined. Records should be audited. Beneficiaries of corruption should be identified and prosecuted regardless of their political affiliation, social status or position of influence.
Equally important is the question of institutional accountability. How did illegal developments continue for years without intervention? In some cases, settlements expanded over long periods, complete with roads, houses and community structures. Such developments do not occur overnight. Where officials ignored violations, failed to enforce regulations or actively participated in illegal allocations, they too must face consequences.
Zimbabwe cannot build orderly cities on a foundation of selective justice. The rule of law loses credibility when enforcement targets only those with the least power. True justice requires that those who conceived, organised, authorised and profited from illegal land allocations face the full weight of the law.
The victims of land scams deserve protection. The perpetrators deserve prosecution.
If Harare is serious about restoring urban order and protecting future generations from exploitation, then the message must be clear: arrest the land barons, the corrupt officials and the fraudsters who sold false dreams not just the families left holding the pieces of those dreams.
Only then will justice be seen to be done.
