KEY POINTS
- Minister Garwe is accused of facilitating an illegal land transfer to PPC Zimbabwe.
- Nyikavanhu Housing Cooperative claims fraudulent alteration of documents to benefit PPC Zimbabwe.
- Government letters support Nyikavanhu’s claims of rightful ownership of Arlington Estate.
Minister Daniel Garwe faces allegations of fraudulently altering documents to benefit PPC Zimbabwe in the Arlington Estate dispute.
Documents show that the Nyikavanhu Housing Cooperative has owned the land since 2006, despite the recent transfer to PPC Zimbabwe. The local government minister invited President Mnangagwa to hand over 480 hectares of the estate to PPC Zimbabwe last month.
Nyikavanhu Housing Cooperative challenges the land transfer
Nyikavanhu Housing Cooperative’s High Court summons claim that their offer for the land was never withdrawn by the government. The cooperative asserts that PPC Zimbabwe’s involvement is illegal, with a fraudulent offer letter presented in February 2024.
The court documents also state that PPC Zimbabwe’s actions, including document fabrication, led to the abandonment of the initial application.
Government’s role and conflicting documents in the land dispute
The last title holder for the land, Portland, had its title cancelled when the land was gazetted for compulsory acquisition.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) authorised Nyikavanhu’s application to subdivide the land for residential purposes in 2011.
Additionally, a 2010 letter from the Local Government Ministry acknowledged Nyikavanhu Housing Cooperative’s ownership of the land.
“This letter serves to confirm that Nyikavanhu Housing Cooperative is known and recognised by the office of the Governor and Resident Minister and that it is based at Arlington Estate Subdivision E,” reads the letter signed by then Acting District Administrator Godfrey Maeresa.
Similar letters, shown to NewZimbabwe.com, have raised a stink and added weight to Nyikavanhu Housing Cooperative’s allegations that Garwe might have illegally parcelled out the land to PPC Zimbabwe, dragging Mnangagwa into the messy affair.
After Mnangagwa’s presentation of the land, it was lauded as his sign of commitment to promoting industrialisation, supporting the private sector and attainment of Vision 2030 that seeks to have transformed Zimbabwe into an Upper-Middle Income economy by then.
Mnangagwa was presented with 60 tonnes of cement by PPC Zimbabwe at the handover.
