CHEGUTU — Zimbabwe’s anti-corruption authorities have arrested Chegutu Municipality town clerk Jacob Chikuruwo over the alleged irregular sale of 5.1 hectares of municipal land to Flying Pot Private Limited, a company linked to the late businessman Edward Pfugari.
Chikuruwo faces a charge of criminal abuse of duty as a public officer or, alternatively, fraud. He appeared before Chegutu magistrate Sharon Mashavira and was released on US$100 bail. He was remanded to September 4, when the matter is expected to return to court as investigations continue. The State was represented by Abigirl Fana.
The case centres on a section of land that formed part of a larger 12.3-hectare property held by Pfugari under a long-term lease with the municipality. The lease was signed in 1994 for the development of a restaurant and recreational facilities. Nearly two decades later, the local authority entered negotiations with Pfugari to subdivide the property and sell him a 5.1-hectare portion.
The proposed sale was valued at US$561,000. Council resolved on August 15, 2012, to dispose of the portion to Flying Pot Private Limited. Investigators, however, allege that Pfugari had already paid a US$50,000 deposit before the council had passed the resolution authorising the transaction.
That payment is one of the details at the centre of the case against Chikuruwo. Prosecutors allege that, between 2011 and 2013, when he was serving as the municipality’s chamber secretary, he failed to advise councillors on the procedures required before the land could be sold. The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission says he should have advised the council to advertise the proposed disposal and to obtain approval for a change of land use from the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works.
The commission’s case is that the transaction went ahead without those steps being followed. The land was originally held for restaurant and recreational development, while the disposal involved separating a portion from the leased property and transferring it to a private company. The absence of an advertisement and the alleged failure to obtain ministerial approval are therefore central to the State’s account of how the deal was handled.
The transaction also places renewed attention on the way local authorities administer valuable land. Municipal councils control land that is needed for housing, shops, industry and public facilities, and their decisions can affect both the finances of a town and the prospects of residents seeking secure places to build. When land is allocated or sold outside established procedures, disputes can persist for years and buyers may be left with payments, agreements or developments that are difficult to enforce.
Chikuruwo was also arrested in April 2025 in a separate matter involving the alleged mishandling of land intended for a shopping mall outside Chegutu’s central business district. At the time, he was reported to have been taken into custody by ZACC over the allocation of the land. Public details about the outcome of that earlier case are limited, but the arrest means the latest proceedings are not the first time the town clerk has faced anti-corruption scrutiny connected to municipal land.
The Chegutu case follows a series of land-related prosecutions involving councillors and council officials in other parts of Zimbabwe. In Chitungwiza, former Ward 12 councillor Darlington Musonza was convicted of fraud in November 2022 after selling a non-existent residential stand to a home-seeker for US$3,800. Musonza claimed that the stand was in the Zengeza 3 Extension, but the property did not exist as represented.
Another Chitungwiza case involved Emmanuel Mushata, the municipality’s works manager. He was convicted of criminal abuse of duty after a full trial over the allocation of a 3,000-square-metre piece of land at Zengeza 2 Shopping Centre in 2019. The land was allocated to Zengeza West legislator Job Sikhala, who was reported to have used Constituency Development Fund money to build structures at the site. Mushata was later sentenced to 48 months in prison, with part of the sentence suspended under conditions set by the court.
The cases demonstrate the different forms that alleged land abuse can take. In Chegutu, the charge relates to the disposal of a substantial municipal property and the alleged failure to follow advertising and land-use procedures. In Chitungwiza, one case concerned the allocation of commercial land to a political figure, while another involved the sale of a residential stand that did not exist. Each case involved land or land rights being handled by people with access to municipal processes.
A further case was recorded in Seke in 2024, when ZACC arrested Ward 11 councillor Patson Chipunza over the alleged subdivision and sale of land belonging to the estate of the late former Mines and Mining Development minister Amos Midzi. The land was at Earling Farm in Beatrice. Investigators alleged that a portion of the farm was subdivided in December 2022 and advertised for sale through an agent.
According to the allegations, a buyer was referred to Chipunza, who represented himself as the village head and owner of the land. The buyer paid US$29,000 for a 63-hectare piece of land and invested a further US$41,000 in farm infrastructure before the estate’s co-executor discovered the transaction and reported it to ZACC. Chipunza was expected to appear in court after his arrest.
The Seke case, like the Chitungwiza prosecutions, shows how land disputes can involve a chain of actors, including councillors, agents, officials and prospective buyers. It also underlines the financial scale of transactions that can arise when land is marketed without clear authority. The alleged US$70,000 outlay in that case consisted of the purchase price and additional investment, while the Chegutu matter involves a municipal sale valued at US$561,000.