The government has warned traditional leaders—chiefs, headmen, and village heads (MaSabhuku)—against the sale of communal land, as doing so is a criminal offence.
Obert Jiri, the Permanent Secretary for Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development, called on traditional leaders to immediately stop any unauthorised land transactions, but instead, work closely with local rural district councils. Said Jiri:
<blockquote>
We have seen the rise of sabhuku deals, which we certainly say no to.
</blockquote>
Jiri said that land management authority rests solely with the President, who oversees proper allocation.
He urged Zimbabweans seeking land to follow the correct procedures, warning that bypassing them only opens opportunities for exploitation by land barons.
The government is holding capacity-building workshops to educate traditional leaders on their roles, responsibilities, and the legal frameworks for managing communal land. Said Jiri:
<blockquote>
There’s no need for anyone to obtain an offer letter from a window somewhere. An offer letter or a title deed must be processed in ministry offices. Engage the authorities that offer land, not anyone else.
</blockquote>
“Sabhuku land deals” refer to the illegal practice where traditional leaders, such as village heads, sell or allocate communal or state land to individuals for money or other benefits. This practice is especially prevalent in areas near towns and cities.
More: <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/sabhuku-land-deals-banned/">The Herald</a>

Pindula News

The government told traditional leaders not to sell communal land because it's illegal. They must work with councils instead. The President controls land allocation. Zimbabweans should follow procedures to get land to avoid exploitation. The government is educating leaders on their roles. "Sabhuku land deals" are when leaders sell state land illegally. This happens a lot near towns. Follow the correct process to get land, don't buy it from unauthorized people.

Government Orders Traditional Leaders To Stop Sabhuku Land Deals

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Amon Murwira has warned that village heads caught selling or helping others sell state land will be treated as land barons and face arrest.
Murwira encouraged anyone with proof of illegal land deals to report them.
Reports suggest that village heads, especially in areas like Domboshava, Seke, Nyabira, Rusape, and Chesa Farm, have illegally settled over 10,000 people.
The scheme involves villagers selling land and sharing the profits with the village head. The village head helps new settlers by forging documents and getting them approved by the chief, who is also said to receive a share of the money.
Speaking in the National Assembly, Murwira, who was standing in for Local Government Minister Daniel Garwe, said village heads involved in these activities are considered land barons. He said (via <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/village-heads-warned-against-selling-state-land/">The Herald</a>):
<blockquote>
If there are village heads selling land, we call them land barons. It is illegal, with regard to law; they are supposed to be arrested. That is Government policy or that is the law. If there is anyone with concrete evidence like what the Honourable Member alluded to, these people must be arrested, that is Government policy.
</blockquote>
Murwira was responding to Albert Nyakuedzwa, the chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Local Government, who asked about the government’s stance on village heads selling land in peri-urban areas, claiming they had settled over 10,000 people.
Another Member of Parliament raised a concern, alleging that some government workers responsible for overseeing land issues were aware of these illegal settlements but did nothing to stop them.
Murwira replied that if government workers knowingly allowed such illegal activities to happen, it should be considered corruption. He said:
<blockquote>
The issue that he is raising is that there are people who work for the Government and local authorities who may know what is happening and all that.
That is what we call corruption, and that is why we have laws that deal with corruption, which must prosecute those people who commit corruption. The question again is, is there such a law? The law is there.
Firstly, they are not supposed to sell land illegally. If they do that, they will be prosecuted. Secondly, people who see people selling land illegally and just keep quiet are also involved in corruption; they will also be arrested. Corruption is illegal; selling land is illegal.
</blockquote>
National Housing and Social Amenities Minister Zhemu Soda said traditional leaders do not have the right to sell state land. He warned that those who are selling land could face long prison sentences.

Village heads caught selling state land will be treated as land barons and face arrest. Reports say over 10,000 people have been illegally settled by village heads in some areas. Villagers sell land and share profits with the village head, who forges documents to help new settlers. Foreign Affairs Minister Amon Murwira warned village heads involved in illegal land deals will be arrested. Government workers who allow illegal settlements may also face corruption charges. Traditional leaders do not have the right to sell state land and those doing so could go to prison.

Village Heads Caught Selling State Land To Be Treated As Land Barons

The High Court has ruled that rural district councils (RDCs) do not have the authority to sell communal land.
According to the Communal Land Act, the Rural District Councils Act, and the Traditional Leaders Act, leasing or selling traditional, communal, and grazing lands is prohibited.
Recently, the High Court nullified a land sale involving a family trust and the Buhera Rural District Council.
As reported by <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/rural-land-cannot-be-sold-rules-high-court/">The Herald</a>, the dispute centred around a 40-hectare plot in Madzivanyika Village, which included homesteads for over 35 villagers, as well as grazing lands and communal fields.
The land had been sold to the Munda Family Trust to construct a boarding school, with plans to evict the 35 families already in progress.
The affected villagers challenged the local authority’s decision in the High Court.
Justice Webster Chinamora declared the sale illegal and voided the agreement between the Munda Family Trust and the council. He ruled:
<blockquote>
The application for a declaratory order be and is hereby granted. The agreement of sale of 40 hectares of communal land situated in the Madzivanyika Village, Chief Chitsunge Buhera, entered into between Munda Family Trust and Buhera Rural District Council dated March 23 2020 be and is hereby declared illegal and is accordingly cancelled.
The first and second respondents (Munda Family Trust and Mr Pomerai Munda) are and are hereby ordered not to evict any of the villagers residing at the 40 hectares of communal land.
</blockquote>
In their application for a declaratory order, the villagers argued that communal land is vested in the President of Zimbabwe, and the local authority can only allocate land in line with the customary laws relating to allocation, occupation and use of communal land.
They further argued that a rural district council did not have the right and power to dispose of, by way of sale, any portion of communal land.
In his judgment, Justice Chinamora said it was clear that communal land could not be sold.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

The High Court said rural councils can't sell communal land. The law does not allow it. The court cancelled a sale of land in Buhera. The land was meant for a school, but families lived there too. The court said the sale was illegal. The President owns communal land, not the councils. The councils can only give out land following traditions. Communal land cannot be sold, the court said.

"Rural Land Cannot Be Sold, It Is Vested In The President"

Two village heads from Nyamandlovu appeared before Bulawayo Magistrate Maxwell Ncube on Friday, 23 February facing a charge of unlawfully allocating 38 stands to home seekers.
As reported by the <a href="https://newsday.co.zw/southerneye/local/article/200023533/village-heads-up-for-selling-state-land">Southern Eye</a>, the accused are Chikombingo Moses Nyamande (84) and village development committee member Danisa Nyathi (59).
They were not asked to plead before being remanded to 21 March for trial.
Nyathi and Nyamande are resettled farmers on gazetted State land.
It is the State’s case that since 21 January 2023, Nyamande and Nyathi have allocated stands to 38 villagers without State authority.
The villagers allegedly moved onto the land and built structures.
On 22 January this year, police received a tip-off that the duo were illegally parcelling out State land and visited the area where they discovered that 38 illegal settlers had already built housing structures.
The accused failed to produce documentation authorising the settlers to occupy the land in question leading to their arrest.
Police recently launched “Operation Order No To Land Barons” targetting people accused of being irregularly settled on State land.
This has resulted in the arrest of hundreds of villagers across the country.
Four village heads from Dema in Mashonaland East Province were convicted after appearing in court for selling stands in undesignated places and pocketing the proceeds.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

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