MARONDERA, Jun. 10 (NewsDay Live) — The High Court has struck off the roll an application by Ruwa Estate (Private) Limited and One Mzuri Estate (Private) Limited that sought a declaratory order declaring the acquisition of a disputed 211-hectare parcel of land at Cloverdale in Goromonzi illegal.
The ruling is the latest twist in a protracted ownership battle over the land, coming months after the same court upheld Glorious Properties’ claim to the property earmarked for a gated residential development.
In his judgment, Justice Samuel Deme ruled that the matter was improperly before the court because an earlier order under case number HCH631/24 remains in force and has not been set aside.
“After a conscientious examination of the order in HCH631/24, I have come to a conclusion that this is not a proper matter for me to exercise my discretion given that such order is still extant and has not been set aside,” Justice Deme said.
“It is therefore a futile exercise to deal with the rest of the issues if the order in HCH631/24 is still in force. In the circumstances, the present application is improperly before the court. It ought to be struck from the roll with costs.”
The judge ordered that the application be struck off the roll with costs.
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Cloverdale Farm was transferred to the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works in 2012 to facilitate urban expansion. In 2013, the land was sold to Glorious Real Estate (Private) Limited, trading as Glorious Properties, for residential development.
Glorious Properties, whose shareholders include former Labour and Social Welfare Minister Petronella Kagonye, has since been embroiled in a bitter ownership dispute, with multiple parties laying claim to the land. The competing claims have repeatedly stalled completion of the housing project, prolonging uncertainty over one of Goromonzi’s most contested property developments.