By A Correspondent -The Chegutu Magistrates Court has reversed a decision by Chief Chivero and ordered the eviction of a woman who occupied a family homestead in Mhondoro after two brothers allegedly connived to sell the land for US$300.

In a judgment handed down in Case No. CHG CIV 16/26, Provincial Magistrate S. Mashavira ordered Christina Chidzawo and all those claiming occupation through her to vacate a 2.5-hectare portion of the Murambwa family communal homestead at Mbofana Village, Ward 7, under Chief Chivero, Mhondoro, and deliver vacant occupation to the plaintiff.

The plaintiff, Funny Murambwa, who is the eldest surviving son of the Murambwa family, approached the court seeking eviction, arguing that the disputed portion forms part of a larger 50-hectare communal holding that has been occupied by the Murambwa family for generations.

Murambwa told the court that his two brothers, Mizeck Murambwa and Kennias Murambwa, purported to sell or transfer the disputed portion to Chidzawo for US$300 without the authority of the wider family and without compliance with laws governing communal land.

According to the evidence, Kennias and Mizeck connived to sell the homestead. Funny is the plaintiff and he sued after Mizeck made a U-turn and told Funny about the arrangement. Mizeck later testified in support of Funny’s case.

The matter had earlier been reported to Kraal Head Simbanegavi Mbofana and later to Chief Chivero. The family alleges both traditional leaders have links with Chidzawo and ruled in her favour. Chidzawo reportedly boasted that she could not be removed from the homestead following the Chief’s judgment.

Chidzawo contested the eviction, claiming she was lawfully settled on the land by Mizeck and Kennias after the village head conducted a traditional process and registered her. She argued the US$300 was not a purchase price but money exchanged in the context of mutual assistance and a family-like relationship.

She also relied on the judgment form issued by Chief Chivero which had ruled in her favour.

However, Magistrate Mashavira found that her occupation was unlawful.

In his reasoning, the Magistrate said the longstanding Murambwa family occupation was established on the evidence and was not displaced by the Defendant. He noted that the Defendant’s own evidence confirms she did not come to the land through a statutory allocation from the Rural District Council, but through a private arrangement with Mizeck and Kennias.

“The legality of occupation turns on statutory authority and compliance with the governing Acts, not simply on the consent of the persons who physically showed the occupier the land,” the Magistrate said.

“The law protects existing customary occupation rights and gives customary practice an important role, but it does not permit communal land to be treated as privately saleable land outside the statutory process.”

The court found that the Defendant gave different descriptions of why the land was given to her and of the US$300 payment. Her witness, Sarudzai Chuma, corroborated the handover but did not establish approval by the Rural District Council. No permit, allocation form or Council consent was tendered.

The court also relied on a letter from Chegutu Rural District Council dated 31 October 2025, which stated that the Village Development Committee and the ward councillor had confirmed that Chidzawo was not a member of the Murambwa family and that the alleged sale of communal land was unlawful.

The Magistrate stressed that approval by a village head, inclusion in a village register or a decision by traditional leadership cannot displace the statutory requirement for Rural District Council consent under Section 8 of the Communal Land Act and Section 26 of the Traditional Leaders Act.

“The Chief’s judgment, while relevant to the history of the matter, cannot stand in place of the statutory approval that is absent from the evidence,” the judgment reads.

The court dismissed the Defendant’s special plea that Funny Murambwa lacked locus standi, holding that as a descendant and member of the family with a direct customary and possessory interest, he had standing to bring the claim.

DISPOSITION

In the result, it is ordered that:-

a. The Defendant, and all those claiming occupation through her shall vacate and deliver vacant occupation of the approximately 2.5-hectare portion of the Murambwa family communal homestead at Mbofana Village, Ward 7, under Chief Chivero, Mhondoro.

b. The Defendant shall pay the Plaintiff’s costs of suit at an ordinary scale.