Online Reporter
Ivan Zhakata
Herald Correspondent
The High Court has permanently barred Marondera Municipality from selling or allocating residential stands on an 866‑hectare farm owned by Swandev (Pvt) Ltd, ruling that the local authority had no lawful right to dispose of land it did not own.
Justice Joel Mambara on Monday granted a final interdict in favour of the company, which produced a registered deed of transfer for the Remainder of Lot 1 of Elmswood Farm.
The court found that the municipality had been advertising and selling stands on the property without the owner’s consent and without any joint venture agreement.
The municipality opposed the application, claiming the land had been acquired by the State and that it held an offer letter from central Government for urban expansion.
However, it produced no Government Gazette notice, no proof of compulsory acquisition and no title deed in the name of the State.
“The respondent’s position is fatally undermined by the absence of proof that the State ever acquired the applicant’s farm,” Justice Mambara said.
“An offer letter is simply one of the methods by which the State can allocate already‑acquired land to a beneficiary.
“Crucially, if the land has not been lawfully acquired in the first place, an offer letter is of no legal force.”
The court dismissed three preliminary objections raised by the municipality, including a challenge to the validity of Swandev’s title deed.
“A registered title deed is prima facie evidence of ownership of the property by the holder of the deed,” reads the judgment.
“That real right of ownership is not lightly displaced. It can be abrogated only by due process of law.”
The court also rejected arguments that Government ministries should have been joined as parties, finding that the dispute could be determined between the parties before it.
Justice Mambara found that Swandev had satisfied all three requirements for a final interdict: a clear right of ownership, a well‑grounded apprehension of irreparable harm and no alternative remedy.
The harm, Justice Mambara said, was already occurring.
The municipality had entered into sale agreements with third parties, exposing the landowner to potential litigation from buyers misled into purchasing stands on land it owns.
