Zimbabwe: Home Demolitions Uchena Report Reveals Forced Evictions

• Zimbabwe is experiencing widespread home demolitions, justified by the government as urban planning and law enforcement.
• These demolitions disproportionately affect ordinary citizens, who are often victims of corrupt land schemes.
• The state's actions draw parallels to colonial-era forced evictions, which current leaders once condemned as atrocities.
• Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has publicly stated that demolitions will continue irrespective of human cost.
• A High Court order, following a lawsuit by former MP Allan Norman Markham and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, compelled the release of the Justice Tendai Uchena commission report, which had been submitted in December 2019 but remains largely unacted upon, with the full report still not publicly released.

The High Court order compelling the release of the Justice Tendai Uchena commission report provides a significant precedent for transparency and potential leverage in challenging such demolitions or seeking accountability for land corruption.

Across Zimbabwe, the early morning sounds of heavy machinery often signal the start of another round of home demolitions. These operations dismantle brick structures and concrete slabs, often destroying the life savings and aspirations of ordinary citizens who invested years into building a home for their families. As personal belongings are exposed to the elements, the government in Harare consistently justifies these actions by citing the enforcement of law, urban planning initiatives, and the need for municipal order and regularity.

This current wave of Zimbabwe home demolitions targets unsuspecting residents, who frequently find themselves victimized twice: first by predatory land schemes orchestrated by corrupt land barons and council officials, and then by the state's uncompromising response. Despite the state's rhetoric, these demolitions rarely target powerful entities; instead, they impact vulnerable families, leaving them without shelter and often with their possessions ruined.

A profound irony marks post-independence Zimbabwe, as the justifications for these forced evictions bear a striking resemblance to those used during the colonial era. Decades ago, Rhodesian native commissioners and municipal police employed similar tactics, razing ancestral homesteads and high-density township dwellings, displacing rural populations into guarded areas. Their rationale then included health regulations, legal compliance, and the removal of 'illegal squatters'—a vocabulary strikingly similar to today's.

The very leaders who once mobilized international condemnation against such colonial-era displacements now wield comparable instruments of removal. Had these current demolitions occurred under colonial rule, today's government officials would undoubtedly have denounced them as atrocities and state-sponsored terror, broadcasting images of shattered homes to international bodies like the United Nations. However, the contemporary stance, articulated by figures such as Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi in Parliament, is one of unwavering resolve, declaring that demolitions will proceed "regardless of human cost," mirroring the defiant posture of the colonial state they fought to dismantle.

While the state points fingers at corrupt land barons and mischievous council workers for the proliferation of unauthorized settlements, meaningful action against these individuals remains largely absent. Many implicated in these schemes are reportedly connected to the ruling elite, leading to a lack of prosecutions and jail sentences. This systemic issue highlights a significant gap in accountability, where the law is applied as a weapon against the vulnerable rather than a framework to protect them.

A critical document in this context is the Justice Tendai Uchena Commission report, which investigates land corruption. This report was submitted to the president in December 2019, yet it remained largely unaddressed for years. Despite a High Court order compelling its release, the full report has still not been made public, even after an order for its publication was issued in May 2026. This order was secured through a lawsuit initiated by former MP Allan Norman Markham and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, underscoring the persistent struggle for transparency and justice in addressing land-related malpractices.

The government's reliance on colonial-era town planning acts to justify mass homelessness raises serious human rights concerns. To assert that unauthorized occupation warrants immediate structural destruction without offering alternative shelter prioritizes what the state perceives as 'spatial aesthetics' over fundamental human survival and dignity. This approach contradicts the very principles of land reclamation and human dignity that underpinned the nation's liberation struggle.

Lawyers representing individuals affected by these Zimbabwe forced evictions must be acutely aware of the state's legal justifications, such as urban planning and law enforcement, while simultaneously advancing robust human rights arguments against them. The High Court order compelling the release of the Justice Tendai Uchena commission report provides a significant precedent for transparency and potential leverage in challenging such demolitions or seeking accountability for land corruption.

Lawyers representing individuals affected by home demolitions in Zimbabwe should be aware of the state's legal justifications (urban planning, law enforcement) and the human rights arguments against them. The High Court order compelling the release of the Justice Tendai Uchena commission report provides a precedent for transparency and potential leverage in challenging such demolitions or seeking accountability for land corruption.

Source: Original reporting via Tendai Ruben Mbofana