THE SABHUKU SHADOWS: UNMASKING THE ILLEGAL LAND MARKET TEARING THROUGH MANICALAND
MUTARE — In the mist-shrouded valleys of Burma Valley and the bustling growth points of Murambinda, a quiet but devastating trade has been flourishing for years. It is a market built on desperation, tradition, and a blatant disregard for the law. Known locally as “Sabhuku deals,” these illegal land transactions have seen village heads and middlemen parcel out State-owned communal land to unsuspecting or complicit buyers. But the hammer has finally fallen.
The Zimbabwean government has declared a state of zero tolerance, launching a massive crackdown that has left thousands of families facing eviction without a cent in compensation. From the timber plantations of Chimanimani to the ecologically sensitive wetlands of Mutasa, the authorities are moving to dismantle a parallel land administration system that officials say has created “widespread disorder” across the province of Manicaland.
The Hammer Falls
Advocate Misheck Mugadza, the Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, did not mince his words during a high-stakes all-stakeholders meeting held this Wednesday. Surrounded by heads of ministries, the Joint Operations Command (JOC), and local authority representatives, the Minister issued a directive that has sent a clear message to every corner of the province: the era of the illegal land baron is over.
“I direct all stakeholders as follows – the Zimbabwe Republic Police and National Prosecuting Authority to intensify arrests and prosecutions of traditional leaders, middlemen and implicated officials. There is zero tolerance for corruption. The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) must enforce Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) requirements and environmental protection laws in ecologically sensitive areas – wetlands, riverbanks and forests are not for sale. Traditional leaders must operate strictly within the Traditional Leaders Act, and report illegal activities to authorities,” Minister Mugadza stated.
The Minister’s directive was clear: those who bypassed the law are “living on borrowed time.” For the families who saved their life earnings to buy a small plot from a local headman, the reality is stark. There will be no refunds, no alternative land, and no sympathy from the State.
A Province Under Siege
Manicaland, with its fertile soil and strategic location along major highways, has become the epicentre of this land grab. According to data compiled by the provincial government, 130 of Manicaland’s 3,125 villages are heavily affected. The numbers tell a story of systemic failure in local governance. Buhera leads the list with 44 affected villages, followed by Makoni with 26, and Mutare with 20.
Mr John Misi, the Provincial Director for Local Government Services and Administration, provided a harrowing breakdown of the hardest-hit areas. The list reads like a map of the province’s most vital regions: Chigodora, Piki, and Burma Valley in Mutare; Murambinda in Buhera; Nyamazi and Nyarumvurwi in Nyanga; and the vast settlements of Kondo, Vheneka, and Maunganidze in Chipinge.
In Chimanimani, the situation has taken an even darker turn. Illegal allocations have encroached directly onto timber plantations, threatening one of the province’s most critical industries. In Makoni, the chaos has been exacerbated by boundary disputes among five different chiefs, a vacuum of authority that led to the appointment of “de-facto headmen” who took it upon themselves to sell land that was never theirs to begin with.
The Legal Reality: Custodians, Not Owners
The root of the “Sabhuku deal” lies in a fundamental misunderstanding—or deliberate manipulation—of Zimbabwean law. Under the Communal Land Act (Chapter 20:04), all communal land is vested in the State and administered through rural district councils. While traditional leaders like village heads (Sabhukus) and chiefs are the cultural custodians of the land, they possess no legal authority to sell or permanently allocate it.
“Traditional leaders are custodians of land and cultural heritage – they are not owners and possess no legal authority to sell or permanently allocate communal, State, A1/A2 farm land. Violations will attract disciplinary action through the Provincial Chiefs’ Council,” Minister Mugadza emphasised.
He further clarified the only legal route for land acquisition: “Where there are challenges in implementing policies as given or in enforcing the law, these should be brought to the attention of my Office and the Provincial Lands Committee for support and direction. As Government has repeatedly stated: ‘There is 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.’ Citizens who bypass lawful channels expose themselves to eviction without compensation.”
The Cost of Chaos
The impact of these illegal settlements goes far beyond legal technicalities. Because these plots are sold without planning approval or environmental assessments, they have emerged in the most unsuitable locations. Settlements have mushroomed in mountains, vleis, waterways, and river valleys.
These haphazard developments block natural drainage systems and threaten entire ecosystems. Perhaps more critically for the residents, these areas lack the most basic services. There are no roads, no sewer reticulation, no clean water supplies, and no schools or clinics. By the time the local authorities are called in to “regularise” these areas, the cost of installing infrastructure is often prohibitive, creating a permanent liability for the taxpayer.
Secretary for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Mr Abbiot Maronge, noted that the problem is particularly acute around rapidly growing business centres. “The issue is affecting areas around rapidly growing business centres, both in communal and resettlement zones. We have fast expanding urban points such as Murambinda, Birchenough Bridge, Chitakatira, DC Mutasa, Watsomba, Ruwangwe, Nhedziwa, and Chimanimani. All these growth points have seen irregular settlements mushrooming around them,” he said in a recent interview.
The Law in Action: Recent Precedents
The government’s rhetoric is already being backed by action in the courts. In January 2026, several village heads in Dema were convicted of illegal land sales, a case that served as a warning shot across the country. More recently, a 51-year-old man from Nyadongo Village, under Chief Zimunya, was sentenced to an effective six months in prison for selling communal land.
These are not isolated incidents. Reports suggest that the activities of land barons across Zimbabwe have cost the country nearly US$3 billion in lost revenue and unregulated development. President Emmerson Mnangagwa himself has issued a firm and uncompromising denunciation of the practice, ordering all provinces to submit detailed audits of illegal settlements by mid-May 2026.
In Manicaland, the authorities have completed their data compilation and are now moving into the “corrective” phase. This means the time for warnings has passed. “Whoever is fuelling or participating in their creation must know that the law will be invoked to sanction those individuals,” Mr Maronge warned. “Development in the province must proceed in an orderly manner. It should be structured in a way that benefits communities, promotes economic growth, and ensures people live in safe environments.”
A Tale of Two Systems
While rural district councils struggle to contain the tide of illegal deals, some urban authorities have been praised for their resilience. Mutare City Council, Chipinge Town Council, and Rusape Town Council were specifically commended by Secretary Maronge for standing firm against unplanned allocations.
“Let me acknowledge our urban local authorities — Mutare City Council, Chipinge Town Council, and Rusape Town Council — for their efforts in ensuring that no illegal land allocations take place within their jurisdictions, unlike in some other cities and towns elsewhere. These councils have remained on top of the situation in managing both State and council land,” Maronge stated.
The goal now is to replicate this urban discipline in the rural areas. Minister Mugadza has directed all local and rural district councils to “immediately activate” their master plans. These plans are the blueprints for orderly development, and their neglect is exactly what allowed the Sabhuku deals to thrive.
The Uncertain Future
As the police intensify their patrols and the Environmental Management Agency begins its inspections, a sense of profound unease has settled over the illegal settlements of Manicaland. For the legitimate landowners who have watched their pastures and fields be swallowed by haphazard housing, the government intervention is a long-overdue relief. But for the thousands who bought into the Sabhuku dream, the future is a bleak landscape of legal battles and lost homes.
The message from the Provincial Minister remains final: “Local authorities must also be vigilant against internal threats. No councillor or official is to participate in the regularisation of illegal settlements without full legal authority, proper planning approval and ministerial sanction. Those who do so will face disciplinary and legal consequences.”
The “Sabhuku deals” may have provided a quick fix for those desperate for a piece of Zimbabwe’s soil, but the true cost is only now becoming clear. In the eyes of the law, a signature from a village head is worth nothing compared to an official offer letter from the Ministry of Lands. As the evictions begin, the province of Manicaland stands at a crossroads, attempting to reclaim its land from the shadows of corruption and return it to the light of lawful, planned development.