Govt vows not to evict long-term illegal land settlers, opts for regularisation

The Zimbabwean government has announced that it will not evict long-term illegal occupants of land but implement a program to regularise their occupation.

Speaking in the National Assembly on Wednesday, Minister of Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Ziyambi Ziyambi, stated that the government aims to ensure people have proper housing.

Ziyambi acknowledged the legal challenge of evicting occupants who have resided on the land for over 20 years. He explained that the government will analyze the situation on a case-by-case basis with stakeholders involved.

He highlighted an instance where the government was sued by commercial farmers for reclaiming land protected under a bilateral agreement. The solution involved finding alternative land for the farmers due to the presence of existing settlers.

“…..the President is saying even those in urban areas who do not have title deeds, despite having stayed in the same house for several years, and all they know is a card at the Municipal offices, let us ensure that they have title deeds.

“It is true that if somebody has been occupying a land for over 20 years, technically we cannot go there without violating that particular individual’s rights and say we are demolishing. The law does not allow us to do that.

“What we are saying is that we will go area by area with all the stakeholders involved and interrogate whether it is feasible to do that or not. We have already started doing that.

“We were taken to court by some commercial farmers under the bi-lateral arrangement whereby we were not supposed to take their land.

“Our solution was that if the farm is still vacant, we can return it to that particular farmer, but it is impossible because of the settlers that are already there. The best solution is to look for an alternative farm so that we satisfy our legal requirements,” Ziyambi said.

A Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) blitz code-named ‘Operation No Land Barons and Illegal Settlements’ has seen the arrest of more than 3 775 illegal settlers in February for occupying gazetted land.

Others have since dragged the government to court arguing that their right to shelter has been infringed. Rights groups including the church have condemned the process for being implemented without an alternative solution for homeless people.