Harare demolitions leave families homeless after years of building

What the report says

Residents in St Martins Extension, a suburb of Harare, Zimbabwe, say they have been left homeless after municipal demolitions carried out on August 14, 2026. According to Al Jazeera, bulldozers and municipal police moved in around dawn and destroyed homes belonging to people who say they had legally bought stands and spent years building on them. Among those affected were Methro Masunga, a single mother who said she saved for years to buy land, Memory Chengeta, and Joachim Nhete, who said he used his retirement savings to build a house.

The City of Harare says the demolitions were part of an enforcement drive against illegal structures, unauthorized construction and development on land not approved for housing. City officials told local media that residents had been warned repeatedly and that only unlawful buildings were targeted. But residents and housing advocates argue that the actions may have ignored council-linked allocation documents and a 2025 court order involving some St Martins applicants. Al Jazeera said the available information does not establish whether every affected home was covered by that order.

The dispute highlights long-running problems in Harare’s land administration, including disputed allocations, weak record-keeping and allegations of improper land sales. Rights groups and residents are demanding accountability, clarification over approvals and relief for those displaced. The case also raises broader questions about whether local authorities can demolish homes without alternative accommodation, given Zimbabwe’s constitutional and housing-policy protections, as reported by Al Jazeera.