MTHWAKAZI Republic Party leader, Mqondisi Moyo, has condemned the government’s title deeds revalidation exercise, warning it poses a serious threat to vulnerable communities in Matabeleland.
The exercise requires property owners to submit title deeds to authorities for digital validation at a cost.
But Moyo described it as “not an innocent administrative reform” but a “calculated, exploitative and deeply dangerous scheme.”
He argued that communities in Matabeleland remain deeply traumatised by historical injustices, including the Gukurahundi atrocities, forced displacement and decades of economic marginalisation.
According to Moyo, many families affected by political violence and economic migration fled to countries such as South Africa, Botswana, the UK and the US, leaving behind properties still registered in the names of deceased relatives.
Thousands of estates were never formally administered due to displacement, poverty and weak systems.
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“The people of Matabeleland do not view the title deeds revalidation exercise as a simple administrative process,” Moyo said.
“It is increasingly perceived as a deeply political and potentially dangerous operation.”
He warned that absent property owners, undocumented heirs and elderly residents lacking legal knowledge could become easy targets.
The party also fears that politically connected individuals could exploit documentation gaps to acquire valuable properties.
“These fears are neither abstract nor imaginary,” Moyo said, pointing to Zimbabwe’s history of alleged fraudulent land allocations and disputed ownership claims.
He called for stronger legal safeguards, independent oversight, free legal assistance and diaspora outreach programmes to help affected families.
Moyo said many Matabeleland families view their homes as symbols of memory, survival and historical continuity.
“To lose such properties through bureaucratic technicalities would be experienced as a continuation of historical dispossession.”
The party said it would continue advocating for justice, transparency and protection of vulnerable communities amid unresolved grievances.