Chitungwiza- In Manyame Park, the air is thick with a stench that defies description—a nauseating cocktail of raw effluent, stagnant sludge, and decay.

Children weave through narrow, muddy alleys on their way to school, skipping over puddles of murky water that glisten with an oily sheen. Just a few metres away, brand-new brick houses rise defiantly against the skyline, their red roofs a stark contrast to the grey, festering pond they surround.

This is the toxic paradox of St Mary’s Constituency in Chitungwiza, where the desperate dream of homeownership has collided head-on with the grim reality of a public health time bomb.

For years, Chitungwiza—Zimbabwe’s third-largest urban settlement, home to over 400,000 people—has been strangled by a chronic sewage crisis. At the heart of this unfolding disaster is the collapse of critical wastewater infrastructure, particularly Pump Station No. 3, which has now become a flashpoint for illegal occupation, environmental degradation, and mounting fears of a cholera outbreak that could dwarf previous tragedies.

MP Sounds the Alarm

Hon. Brighton Mazhindu, the elected Member of Parliament for St Mary’s Constituency, has had enough. In a hard-hitting letter addressed to the Chitungwiza Town Clerk dated 29 September 2025, the legislator formally raised the red flag over the “illegal invasion and construction of residential structures in and around Pump Station No. 3.”

“It has come to my attention that individuals are occupying land and erecting permanent structures within close proximity to this critical sewer infrastructure,” Mazhindu wrote. “This activity poses an immediate threat to public health, environmental safety, and the proper functioning of essential municipal services.”

The MP outlined four urgent dangers: the public health risk of cholera and typhoid, compromised infrastructure that hinders municipal maintenance teams, long-term environmental degradation through soil and water contamination, and the blatant violation of Chitungwiza’s zoning laws.

He called for immediate investigations, a halt to further developments, fencing of the pump station, and public awareness campaigns to warn residents of the lethal consequences of living atop a sewer.

‘Land Barons’ and Vandalised Fences

Contacted for comment, and probed on the MP’s concerns this July 2026, Chitungwiza Municipality Spokesperson Tafadzwa Kachiko confirmed that the holding pond is part of Pump Station Number 3’s infrastructure, specifically designed as a buffer during periods of excessive sewage flow before wastewater is pumped to the treatment plant. However, he clarified that the area was never intended for human habitation.

(Video uploading)

“The area was originally fenced, but the fence and critical pump station infrastructure were vandalised over the years, affecting operations,” Kachiko told this publication.

He acknowledged the environmental and public health risks, noting that rehabilitation works on Pump Station 3 and the Zengeza Outfall Sewer are currently underway.

However, Kachiko squarely placed the blame for the current crisis on illegal land invasions.

“It is important to note that the houses surrounding the pond were not approved by the municipality. The area falls within a sewer reservation and was illegally occupied through land invasions facilitated by land barons. The rapid pace of land invasions was largely driven by land barons taking advantage of high demand for residential land,” he stated.

The council insists it has not been passive. Kachiko revealed that the municipality issued stop-development notices, pursued legal action, and continues to work with authorities to address the matter.

He urged prospective home seekers to confirm the status of land directly with municipal authorities before making any transactions.

“As a local authority, we remain committed to protecting public health, restoring sewer infrastructure and finding lawful and humane solutions,” he added.

The ‘Security Sector’ Angle

But the land invasions may have a more sinister political dimension. A source intimately familiar with the developments in Manyame Park, who declined to be named for fear of reprisal, told this publication that the individuals erecting these homes are not ordinary citizens desperately seeking shelter.

“Those who are building their homes near the sewer are from the security sector,” the source alleged. “Some of them build these homes overnight and during public holidays.”

This allegation points to a systemic rot, suggesting a coordinated effort involving individuals with the power to bypass municipal oversight. If true, it transforms the crisis from mere lawlessness into a troubling case of insider impunity, where the very institutions meant to protect the nation are turning a public health no-go zone into prime real estate for the connected few.

A Resident’s Nightmare

For the ordinary residents trapped between the encroaching homes and the overflowing pond, life has become a daily gamble. Tatenda Dambe, a resident of St Mary’s, painted a harrowing picture of the hazards facing the community, particularly children.

“The pond should be secured. As it is who knows maybe we even have bodies in there,” Dambe said, referencing the infamous Budiriro tragedy where bodies were found in a well, highlighting the macabre fears that fester in unsecured water infrastructure.

He explained that learners from the other side of the area are forced to cross the road and pass directly through the unsecured pond to reach their schools, exposing them to raw sewage daily.

A Crisis Forged in Neglect

How did Chitungwiza get here? The answer lies in decades of institutional decay. Chitungwiza’s sewerage system, much of it dating back to the pre-independence era, was designed for a fraction of the current population. Decades of deferred maintenance, rapid urban migration, and a chronic lack of investment have left the system buckling.

Pump Station No. 3 has been a persistent failure hotspot. In 2011, the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) convicted Chitungwiza Municipality for discharging raw sewage into the environment at Zengeza Sewage Treatment Works and the very same pump station without a licence.

The municipality’s director of works admitted at the time that the town had been discharging a staggering 25 mega litres of raw sewage daily into the Nyatsime and Manyame Rivers since 2004, when treatment facilities stopped functioning.

Fast forward to January 2017, and a burst sewer pipe at Manyame Park Pump Station Three went unattended for days, with raw effluent flowing directly into homes. EMA fined the municipality $1,000 for failing to rehabilitate the clogged pond, warning of “pollution that will lead to the spread of water-borne diseases to the people downstream.”

Despite a 2023 budget report allocating ZWL$2.4 billion toward sewer rehabilitation—with Pump Station 2 to Pump Station 3 listed as a priority—residents remain sceptical. They point to the council’s failure to appoint a substantive engineer to oversee projects, with donated equipment reportedly lying idle.

Broken Promises and Outraged Residents

Alice Kuvheya, Director of the Chitungwiza Residents’ Trust (Chitrest), did not mince words when asked about the situation. “It is very sad; the situation is very bad,” she said.

“Our Municipality do not care where they do not prioritise service delivery. They never invest in the protection of residents. Raw sewage is flowing everywhere; people can no longer use their own toilets. It’s always fake promises with no action. What we are saying is the minister must intervene and help us as residents. The council is not doing anything.”

Kuvheya’s frustration echoes the sentiment of many who feel abandoned. The health threats are dire: cholera, typhoid, and dysentery—medieval diseases that should have been eradicated—remain constant risks. Children play near sewage-filled trenches, while residents who rely on boreholes and wells fear their water is contaminated.

EMA’s Response

When approached for comment, an EMA official offered a troublingly casual response. “I will have to find out about the said pond and revert back to you,” the official said.

When contacted to confirm their identity and name, the official did not respond, but confirmed that ” I am not Emma”, an official who has since left EMA.

However, the official acknowledged the broader systemic failures, stating, “As EMA we have issued several orders to the Municipality to fix sewage bursts in Chitungwiza. As EMA, we are committed to a clean, safe and healthy environment. Our officers will inspect and enforce the law.”

The official’s reluctance to engage suggests an agency overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the crisis, struggling to enforce laws that are routinely flouted by both the council and powerful land barons.

The Environmental Toll

The environmental devastation extends beyond Chitungwiza’s borders. Raw effluent flows into the Hunyani River, a vital water source for farming, washing, and fishing across the broader Manyame River system. “Aquatic life is at risk,” residents have said. The pollution threatens fisheries, tourism, and water quality for downstream communities.

EMA has repeatedly sanctioned the municipality—for developing residential and commercial stands on wetlands, malfunctioning sewage works, and uncontrolled waste management.

The municipality itself admitted it operated without a qualified town planner from 2004 until 2011, resulting in the serious urban planning failures that continue to haunt the town today. A 2014 government audit revealed over 14,000 residential stands in Chitungwiza and Manyame had been allocated illegally.

Living in Constant Fear

At its core, Chitungwiza’s sewer nightmare is a crisis of accountability. The political blame game is fierce: central government points to municipal incompetence and corruption, while the council blames slow devolution fund disbursements and a lack of foreign currency for repairs. But for the residents of St Mary’s, these excuses ring hollow.

Mike Bhaulen, a resident of St Mary’s, summed up the pervasive despair. “We’ve lost hope of living a normal life. This is where our homes are, but it feels like we’re slowly being poisoned.”

As the sun sets over Pump Station No. 3, the irony is stark and devastating. The pump station, designed to pump away human waste, is instead pumping despair into the lives of those who have nowhere else to go.

The new houses, built in the shadows of the festering pond, are not just illegal—they are deadly. And unless the government steps in to break the grip of land barons, secure the infrastructure, and enforce the law, St Mary’s will remain a tragedy waiting to happen, a suburb of broken promises built on poisoned ground.