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>

Pindula News

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"

Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister Monica Mutsvangwa on Wednesday said there was a need for the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women including in the traditional leadership structures where men dominate.
Addressing traditional leaders in Harare during a meeting that was held under the theme “Enhancing Justice Outcomes for women in traditional courts of Zimbabwe”, Mutsvangwa said women are entitled to equal rights and dignity as men.
She cited the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa, a protocol that guarantees extensive rights to women, including the right to take part in the political processes, social and political equality with men, improved autonomy in their reproductive health decisions, and an end to harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation, among others. Said Mutsvangwa (<a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200023745/mutsvangwa-calls-for-more-women-chiefs">via NewsDay</a>):
<blockquote>
The protocol emphasises that women are entitled to equal rights and dignity as men, and are encouraged to uphold African cultural values that promote equality, dignity, justice and democracy.
Traditional courts can play a crucial role in addressing gender issues by providing a culturally sensitive and accessible forum for women to seek justice and work towards reversing harmful traditional practices that perpetuate gender inequalities.
</blockquote>
Mutsvangwa said having women in traditional leadership structures would promote a more gender-sensitive and inclusive justice system.
The President of the National Chiefs Council, Mtshana Khumalo said every traditional leadership structure in the country now includes women. He said:
<blockquote>
We now have women as village heads, as chiefs, as headmen, and as assessors.
They also enjoy those cultural chores equal to men, which was taboo before the enactment of the Constitution.
</blockquote>
In Zimbabwe, traditional leaders have a crucial role to play owing to their authority and proximity to the people and their primary mandate to preserve customs and traditions derived from the Constitution.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

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