The Marondera Municipality has advised residents and beneficiaries of stands to proceed with construction on the contested Elmswood Farm despite the matter being before the courts.
The land saga, currently before the High Court, centres around a sprawling piece of land on the outskirts of Marondera, which war veteran and businessman John Fadzisayi Jani, says he lawfully owns and intends to develop into a modern smart city.
This move has raised eyebrows among legal experts, who argue that such conduct could amount to contempt of court and risks prejudicing the judicial process.
In its defence outline, Marondera Council claims they are the rightful owners of the land.
“The first preliminary issue I wish to raise is that the applicant (Jani) has failed to join the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Settlement and the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, both of whom have a direct and substantial legal interest in the land in dispute, more particularly in that the offer letter from the Ministry of Lands, whilst the first respondent (Marondera Municipality) is currently in possession of an offer letter from the Ministry of Local Government and as such for the honourable court to make a determination all the relevant facts must be placed before the court for the issues to be fairly resolved in the absence of the ministries participation the adjudication of this matter will be hampered and the legal rights and interests that reside in the ministries will be adversely affected,” reads the opposing affidavit.
The local authority also dismissed Jani’s claims of being the owner of the farm.
“The applicant is not the owner of the property in question, more particularly in that the government of Zimbabwe acquired a farm in Marondera measuring 866 hectares known as Lot 1 Elmeswood Farm under article 277/200 in the Government Gazette, which was later gazetted in July 2001, General Notice 330A/2002,” the council claimed.
“The farm was handed over to the ministries of Land, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Settlement who further handed it over to the Local Government, Public Works and National Housing who then ultimately handed on the remainder of Elmeswood Farm to the first respondent….”
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However, Jani said the document Marondera Municipality is using to justify its actions is purportedly signed by former Local Government minister Saviour Kasukuwere — who left office years ago and had no authority to issue such letters at the time.
“It is also to be understood that the Ministry of Local Government is not responsible for agricultural offer letters and that transfer to urban development must have been handed over by the Agriculture ministry after all due process is completed. No due process was done,” Jani said in his court application.
“Furthermore, it is not challenged that the applicant's offer letter was at no time withdrawn by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe as it should be.”
The court papers say the offer letter purportedly signed by Kasukuwere in 2015 bears clear signs of forgery.
“The respondents rely on an offer letter of September 16, 2015 by supposedly the former Minister of Local Government, Honourable Kasukuwere S and (MP), which we believe is false and a fake document as it could not override the offer letter by the Agriculture Minister for agricultural land to applicant dated February 20, 2007,” reads the court papers.
This publication established that the disputed property was allocated to Jani under the land reform programme on February 20, 2007 and the war veteran holds genuine government-issued documents confirming his ownership.
In a letter dated January 27, 2025, the Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development ministry's permanent secretary Obert Jiri confirmed Jani as the lawful owner, further stating there had been no lawful transfer of the land to the Local Government ministry or Marondera Municipality in line with the Lands Act.
Jani insists he has already lined up investors keen to bankroll the multi-million-dollar smart city project.
He accuses council officials of frustrating his vision for personal gain by illegally parcelling out residential stands on the same land.
