Zimbabwe: Street Vendor Evictions Ahead of COMESA Summit

• Zimbabwe's Mnangagwa administration has launched "Chenesa Harare," a campaign to evict street vendors and unlicensed businesses from the capital.
• Officially, the campaign aims to restore urban order and Harare's "Sunshine City" status, addressing issues like congestion and litter.
• This current crackdown mirrors historical patterns of mass evictions, including those before the 1991 CHOGM and the 2005 "Operation Murambatsvina" which displaced 700,000 people.
• The timing is linked to Harare hosting the 25th COMESA Summit from October 19-22, 2026, where Zimbabwe will assume the chairmanship.
• Critics argue these actions are driven by political optics to present a sanitized image to international guests, rather than genuine, long-term urban planning.

The current wave of Zimbabwe street vendor evictions, ostensibly aimed at restoring urban order, is instead a familiar tactic employed to present a sanitized image ahead of the upcoming COMESA summit.

The Mnangagwa administration has recently escalated its efforts to clear street vendors from the capital city's pavements, launching a comprehensive operation dubbed “Chenesa Harare.” This heavy-handed campaign has expanded significantly, including the forceful removal of unlicensed operators from First Street to enforce a strict pedestrian-only zone. Concurrently, the government issued an immediate directive for all unlicensed roadside car dealerships to cease operations without delay.

Officially, the state asserts that these measures are designed to restore urban order and reclaim Harare's former status as the “Sunshine City.” Indeed, Harare, much like other urban centers across the nation, had become increasingly congested, with informal vendors often obstructing shop corridors and unmanaged litter transforming downtown areas into sprawling refuse dumps. Formal, tax-paying businesses also faced considerable pressure, frequently undercut by cheaper, often smuggled goods sold directly on their doorsteps. While the necessity of restoring structural order to the city is undeniable, the underlying motivations for the current enforcement blitz warrant closer examination.

This aggressive approach to urban management is not unprecedented in Zimbabwe's history, reflecting an established pattern of state intervention. A notable precedent occurred in October 1991, when Harare prepared to host the 12th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), an event attended by international dignitaries including Queen Elizabeth II. In the months leading up to the summit, authorities forcibly evicted thousands of low-income residents, vendors, and unhoused individuals from Mbare and surrounding informal settlements. These displaced populations were then transported and left at Hatcliffe Extension and Porta Farm, strategically located out of sight from visiting delegates and journalists, who toured carefully manicured routes, oblivious to the social crisis.

Fourteen years later, in 2005, the regime executed “Operation Murambatsvina,” a campaign that razed informal homes and livelihoods across urban centers. United Nations estimates indicate that this operation directly rendered approximately 700,000 people homeless or destitute, while indirectly affecting 2.4 million citizens. The current wave of Zimbabwe street vendor evictions, ostensibly aimed at restoring urban order, is instead a familiar tactic employed to present a sanitized image ahead of the upcoming COMESA summit.

The timing of these clean-up operations is directly linked to Harare's preparations to host the 25th COMESA Summit from October 19 to 22, 2026, at the New Parliament Building in Mount Hampden. During this event, Zimbabwe is slated to officially assume the rotating COMESA Chairmanship for the 2026–2027 term. These actions are less about long-term urban governance and more about political optics, as the state seeks once again to conceal domestic realities behind a veneer of functionality for visiting regional leaders.

This tactic mirrors the approach taken prior to the 44th SADC Summit in August 2024, when authorities selectively resurfaced only the transit corridors designated for foreign dignitaries, leaving the majority of Harare’s road network riddled with severe potholes. The impending COMESA summit also provides context for recent house demolitions along the airport route, which were primarily targeted because they were perceived as visual liabilities along the paths delegates would traverse. These measures underscore a government strategy focused on superficial presentation rather than sustainable urban development.

Critics argue that genuine urban renewal is not the driving force behind the current actions. If urban management were a true priority, the state would not have neglected the decay of city centers for decades, instead opting for periodic, aggressive skirmishes between municipal police and informal traders without ever implementing a sustainable plan. The government's historical pattern suggests a lack of pure benevolence towards its citizens in such matters.

Sweeping informal traders from the streets, as seen in clearouts in 1991, 2005, and now in anticipation of 2026, fundamentally fails to address the underlying structural drivers of informal commerce. Without tackling these root causes, such as economic hardship and lack of formal employment opportunities, the cycle of informal trading, urban decay, and subsequent forceful evictions is likely to persist, regardless of international summits.

Source: Original reporting via Tendai Ruben Mbofana