Municipal police and bulldozers have demolished homes in St Martins Extension, a suburb of Harare, leaving families without shelter amid an escalating dispute over land allocations and building permits in the Zimbabwean capital.
Earth-moving machinery moved into the suburb in the early morning to raze properties, prompting distress among residents who said they had invested their life savings into buying plots and constructing houses after obtaining documentation through council-linked processes. Some displaced residents have since built makeshift shelters on the ruins of their former homes.
The City of Harare defended the operation, stating that it was enforcing planning regulations against unauthorised buildings erected without necessary permits or on unserviced land not designated for residential development. Municipal records show more than 5,000 houses across the capital face demolition under 37 outstanding High Court orders, while a special task force has inspected 22,255 sites to identify unauthorised structures.
Council spokesperson Stanley Gama said municipal officers were not targeting properties with valid approvals. “We are only demolishing structures built illegally whose owners were told and warned many times not to proceed with construction,” Gama said. Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume urged residents with approved building plans to present them during inspections, noting that the municipality had repeatedly warned against building without permits.
However, residents and community advocates argued the operation ignored existing legal protections. In October 2025, High Court Justice Happias Zhou issued a consent order barring the city from evicting named applicants in St Martins Extension or destroying their properties without a court order, while also prohibiting further unapproved construction. Residents said no fresh order overturning that ruling was presented before the demolitions began.
Precious Shumba, director of the Harare Residents’ Trust, condemned the actions of the municipality. “Despite that, the town planning department and legal officers in the Chamber Secretary’s Department issued directives to the Municipal Police to demolish the houses of St Martins Extension residents,” he said.
Under Section 74 of Zimbabwe’s Constitution, evictions and demolitions are prohibited without a court order that considers all relevant circumstances. Displaced residents stated that they received no alternative accommodation from authorities, contrary to national settlement policy guidelines, leaving families exposed as disputes over Harare's land administration continue.
