A landmark High Court ruling just revealed how land barons and institutions have been snagging unclaimed land across Zimbabwe since independence. The decision basically gives the government a powerful weapon to reclaim idle properties.
Justice Pisirai Kwenda dropped a bombshell that could totally reshape land ownership. The ruling forces the Surveyor General to hand over maps and diagrams of land parcels when the state requests them, making it easier to register titles under the Deeds Registry Act.
Prosecutor-General Loyce Matanda-Moyo initiated the legal action after a whistleblower tipped her off about a suspicious plot of land in Waterfalls, Harare. Her investigation revealed that the property was registered in 1977 but never allocated to anyone specific. Neither the City of Harare nor any private entity could claim ownership.
The court determined that the land qualifies as res nullius property without an owner. Matanda-Moyo argued she had a constitutional duty to prosecute anyone targeting state land. Zimbabwe's complex land ownership categories just got a major shake-up that could protect government assets from opportunistic land grabbers who've been exploiting legal gray areas for decades.
Justice Pisirai Kwenda dropped a bombshell that could totally reshape land ownership. The ruling forces the Surveyor General to hand over maps and diagrams of land parcels when the state requests them, making it easier to register titles under the Deeds Registry Act.
Prosecutor-General Loyce Matanda-Moyo initiated the legal action after a whistleblower tipped her off about a suspicious plot of land in Waterfalls, Harare. Her investigation revealed that the property was registered in 1977 but never allocated to anyone specific. Neither the City of Harare nor any private entity could claim ownership.
The court determined that the land qualifies as res nullius property without an owner. Matanda-Moyo argued she had a constitutional duty to prosecute anyone targeting state land. Zimbabwe's complex land ownership categories just got a major shake-up that could protect government assets from opportunistic land grabbers who've been exploiting legal gray areas for decades.
