Harare families seek answers after home demolitions in disputed land scheme

Families in Harare's St Martins Extension are seeking accountability after homes they spent years financing and building were demolished. Residents say they obtained land through council-linked arrangements, while the municipality says it is enforcing planning rules against unauthorised construction.

Council records list more than 5,000 houses facing demolition under 37 outstanding High Court orders across the wider programme. That is a count of properties targeted, not a verified total of homes already destroyed or people made homeless. A task force has separately inspected 22,255 sites.

The dispute includes a consent order issued in October 2025 that set aside demolition notices for named applicants and required a valid court order before their eviction or the destruction of their homes. It also barred further development without written council approval. The order did not automatically cover every property in St Martins, and the available evidence does not establish whether each interviewed resident was protected by it.

The council maintains that it did not demolish properties covered by that order. Residents dispute the legality of the operation and say they received allocation letters and sale agreements through municipal processes. However, an allocation of land does not by itself establish that a particular house had the necessary building and planning approvals.

Some affected families have returned to renting; others remain in makeshift shelters near their former homes. Residents' groups and a local MP have called for investigations and a pause while land allocations are audited. The individual documents, court protections and construction approvals remain central to assessing responsibility.