By Municipal Reporter-At least 200 houses near the National Heroes Acre, including two luxury mansions, face imminent demolition after being deemed illegally constructed on land reserved for the long-planned Harare Drive expansion project.

The City of Harare maintains that Harare Drive was originally designed as a circular route encircling the city, and its planned expansion remains unchanged.

According to the 1998 detailed engineering designs, the missing sections of the road are meant to connect key areas, including Solomon Mujuru Drive (formerly Kirkman Road) at Warren Hills to Gleneagles Road in Southerton, Houghton Park through Mainway Meadows, Retreat to Seke Road, then to Twentydales Road in Hatfield and finally to Mutare Road in Msasa.

However, encroachment on the designated road reserve has become a widespread problem, particularly in the Waterfalls and Retreat suburbs, where more than 100 houses have been illegally built on the Harare Drive expansion corridor.

In Waterfalls, particularly in Mainway Meadows, residents have generally acknowledged the planned road by leaving a 60-meter-wide undeveloped corridor. 

However, in other areas, such as Retreat, construction has continued unchecked, allegedly facilitated by land barons illegally pegging and selling stands despite the city’s clear development plans.

The looming demolitions are the latest in a series of crackdowns on illegal settlements in Harare, a city that has struggled for decades with unauthorized land occupations.

Over the years, the capital has witnessed several large-scale demolitions as authorities seek to enforce urban planning laws. Some of the most significant demolitions include:

• Operation Murambatsvina (2005): The government-backed cleanup campaign led to the demolition of more than 700,000 homes and informal businesses, displacing nearly 2.4 million people. The operation was condemned internationally, with the United Nations describing it as a violation of human rights.
• Chitungwiza and Harare South Evictions (2014-2015): Thousands of residents lost their homes as the government and local authorities targeted structures built on undesignated land.
• Budiriro Demolitions (2020): Hundreds of houses were destroyed after being declared illegal, leaving many families homeless amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Melfort and Caledonia (2023): Similar demolitions took place as authorities clamped down on settlements deemed unlawful.

In all these cases, authorities have blamed land barons for illegally allocating and selling land that does not belong to them, while affected residents often claim they were misled into buying stands with fraudulent paperwork.

Among those affected by the latest Harare Drive demolitions is Minister Oliver Makoni of the Church of Grace Ministries, whose church structure in Retreat is within the designated road expansion area. He denied allegations of encroachment, insisting that his paperwork is in order.

“We have never been informed by the City Council about any encroachment issues. We have a site plan, and our papers are in order. All our documents are at Rowan Martin. Why can’t you obtain a GPS report? It can verify whether we have encroached or not. It’s been nearly 10 years, and above all, the City should understand that people’s lives are more important than a road,” Makoni said.

Despite these objections, Harare City Council’s acting director of urban planning, Samuel Nyabezi, reaffirmed the city’sstance that all illegal structures within the Harare Drive corridor will be demolished.

“Yes, there are many houses that have been built on Harare Drive, particularly in Retreat, but at some point, those structures shall be demolished because our plan for Harare Drive expansion is clear,” Nyabezi said.

He also confirmed that two luxury mansions had been constructed near Harare Drive, close to the National Heroes Acre,and that their owners had been informed that demolition was inevitable.

“The city council will never approve a house to be built on land reserved for a road. These people are just getting site plans and going on to build a full house. At some point, those structures shall be demolished,” he added.

Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume reinforced the city’s commitment to removing all illegal structures, stating that there will be no negotiations.

“We will demolish all those illegal structures. If you ask me to provide a solution, I will only push for demolition because, surely, you cannot build on land reserved for a road. Perhaps the government will stop us, but you simply cannot build on land designated for a road,” Mafume said.

Despite the city’s firm stance, the Constitutional Court recently ruled that demolishing homes without a court order is unconstitutional. 

This presents a significant legal challenge for the authorities, as any demolition without following due process could be subject to legal disputes.