Zanu PF, Prophet Makandiwa In Loggerheads Over Land Scandal

Harare | In Retreat, Waterfalls, Harare, more than 300 illegitimate buildings were destroyed last week to provide space for the United Family International Church (UFIC), under the leadership of Emmanuel Makandiwa, to take up residence.

The land was originally given to the family living in these buildings by land lords who were allegedly connected to the Zanu PF.

The demolitions took place in a community called KumaCongo, which is well-known for its illegal stands. Some of these stands were held by Congolese citizens who had purchased them from a dead land magnate known as Nkomo.

Anti-riot police were heavily present throughout the operation, ordering locals to leave the area by 15:00 on Friday in order to make way for the demolitions.

In December of the previous year, UFIC’s founder and head, Emmanuel Makandiwa, gave the illegal squatters a chance to voluntary demolish their buildings and recover what they could in an attempt to lessen their losses.

When the Newsday crew arrived at Retreat, they found a family trapped along Seke Road with their possessions. Some impacted people were moving their belongings and removing everything that might be salvaged from the cleared area, such bricks.

“We were aware that Makandiwa was the owner of the land because we were issued notices long ago,” said one of the evicted people, expressing their viewpoint. We assumed there wouldn’t be any demolitions since we had acquired the stands from a local Zanu PF “chairman,” so we were complacent.

The people who were impacted disclosed that some stands were offered for between $10 and $20 USD. These exchanges often included people wearing party uniforms, especially in the run-up to elections. Some even had City of Harare stamps on them.

Additionally, social media channels promoted stands, and unwary purchasers sometimes paid up to US$2,000.

A court order to destroy the 300 unauthorised constructions was obtained by UFIC on September 19, 2022; the case is lodged under the number HC3515/21.

For the purpose of home constructions, UFIC congregations had been given access to a section of the property under the Operation Nehemiah home Project.

NewsDay was told by Prime Kufakunesu, a UFIC spokeswoman, that the settlers had received many notifications. “We got a court order, but Father Makandiwa gave the settlers a break in December because he was worried the rainy season would damage their property,” Kufanesu said. “The people continued to live on the property despite being told multiple times that the land belonged to UFIC.”

The area was designated for a church, residential stands, and an orphanage, Kufakunesu continued. On the site, plans call for the development of more than 500 homes, apartments, and single-family homes.

Aside from these developments, property barons were said to have sold stands on nearby land set aside for a railway line in advance of the harmonised elections scheduled for 23 and 24 August.