President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
has
ordered
the
publication
of
the
Commission
of
Inquiry
Report
into
the
Sale
of
State
Land,
complying
with
a
High
Court
directive.
The
order
was
published
on
1
May
2026
through
General
Notice
by
Chief
Secretary
to
the
President
and
Cabinet,
Martin
Rushwaya.
The
inquiry
covers
the
sale
of
state
land
in
and
around
urban
areas
across
Zimbabwe’s
10
provinces
since
2005.
On
24
December
2025,
Justice
Maxwell
Takuva
ordered
Mnangagwa
to
publish
the
report
within
90
days,
citing
constitutional
violations.
According
to
the
Zimbabwe
Lawyers
for
Human
Rights
(ZLHR),
former
legislator
Allan
Norman
Markham
sued
Mnangagwa
and
the
Attorney-General
in
September
2023
for
withholding
the
report,
arguing
it
breached
section
62
of
the
Constitution
on
access
to
information.
The
Zimbabwe
Lawyers
for
Human
Rights
said:
“PRESIDENT
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
has
ordered
his
lieutenant
to
publish
the
findings
of
a
Commission
of
Inquiry
Report
into
the
matter
of
Sale
of
State
Land,
which
was
compiled
more
than
six
years
ago,
thereby
complying
with
a
High
Court
order,
which
compelled
him
to
do
so
recently,
following
an
upsurge
in
illegal
land
transactions
and
unregulated
urban
settlements
by
land
developers
and
cooperatives,
commonly
referred
to
as
land
barons,
who
were
accused
of
selling
state
land
without
authority.
“President
Mnangagwa
issued
the
order
in
a
General
Notice
published
in
a
Government
Gazette
published
on
1
May
2026
by
Martin
Rushwaya,
the
Chief
Secretary
to
the
President
and
Cabinet,
wherein
he
directed
the
publication
of
the
report
of
the
Commission
of
Inquiry
into
the
matter
of
Sale
of
State
land
in
and
around
urban
areas
located
in
the
country’s
10
provinces
since
2005.
“The
decision
by
President
Mnangagwa
is
in
compliance
with
a
High
Court
order
granted
by
Justice
Maxwell
Takuva,
who
on
24
December
2025,
ordered
President
Mnangagwa
to
publish
and
make
accessible
to
the
public,
the
findings
of
a
Commission
of
Inquiry
Report
into
the
matter
of
Sale
of
State
Land,
within
90
days
of
the
date
of
the
handing
down
of
the
judgment.
“President
Mnangagwa
was
sued
together
with
the
Attorney-General
(AG)
in
September
2023
by
Allan
Norman
Markham,
a
former
legislator,
who
filed
an
application
at
the
Harare
High
Court,
arguing
that
the
failure
by
President
Mnangagwa
to
release
the
Commission
of
Inquiry
Report
into
the
matter
of
sale
of
State
land
in
and
around
urban
areas
that
was
acquired
and
allocated
to
the
Ministry
of
Local
Government,
Public
Works
and
National
Housing
for
urban
development
since
2005,
violates
section
62
of
the
Constitution,
which
guarantees
the
right
to
access
any
information
held
by
the
state
or
by
any
institution
or
agency
of
government
in
so
far
as
the
information
is
required
in
the
interest
of
public
accountability.
“The
former
legislator,
who
was
represented
by
Alec
Muchadehama
and
Andrew
Makoni
of
Zimbabwe
Lawyers
for
Human
Rights,
argued
that
the
failure
to
release
the
Commission
of
Inquiry
Report
also
violates
the
founding
values
and
principles
of
the
Republic
of
Zimbabwe
enshrined
in
section
3(2)(g)
of
the
Constitution,
namely
transparency,
justice,
accountability
and
responsiveness.
“Markham
averred
that
the
Commission
of
Inquiry
Report
contains
damning
findings
regarding
the
large-scale
illegal
sale
and
development
of
state
land,
financial
prejudice
to
the
state
amounting
to
approximately
US$2.97
billion
and
the
role
of
individuals
and
institutions.
“The
former
legislator
contended
that
the
withholding
of
the
report
undermines
public
accountability
and
prevents
citizens
from
understanding
the
extent
of
corruption,
maladministration,
and
loss
of
public
resources.
“Markham
stated
that
prior
to
filing
his
court
application
at
the
High
Court,
he
had,
since
2019,
persistently
sought
the
publication
of
the
Commission
of
Inquiry
Report
through
parliamentary
questions,
petitions,
and
formal
correspondence
to
President
Mnangagwa
and
relevant
ministers,
all
of
which
had
gone
unanswered.
“He
argued
that
the
continued
non-disclosure
of
the
Commission
of
Inquiry
report
violates
the
public’s
constitutional
right
to
access
information
held
by
the
state
as
guaranteed
under
section
62(1)
of
the
Constitution,
as
well
as
the
founding
values
and
principles
of
transparency,
justice,
accountability,
and
responsiveness
enshrined
in
section
3(2)(g)
of
the
Constitution.
“In
response,
President
Mnangagwa
and
the
AG
opposed
Markham’s
application
and
argued
that
the
blanket
publication
of
the
Commission
of
Inquiry
Report
may
result
in
a
violation
of
other
people’s
rights.
“The
appointment
of
the
Justice
Tendai
Uchena-led
Commission
of
Inquiry
followed
the
mushrooming
of
some
illegal
settlements
in
most
urban
areas,
most
of
which
were
reportedly
established
from
the
illegal
sale
of
state
land
by
unscrupulous
land
developers
commonly
referred
to
as
land
barons.
“The
land
developments
lacked
basic
facilities
such
as
water
and
sewer
reticulation
and
other
infrastructure
such
as
roads,
electricity,
schools
and
clinics.
“This
came
after
many
people
were
losing
money
to
the
so-called
land
barons,
who
were
involved
in
double
sales
of
properties
while
some
houses,
which
were
built
illegally
or
on
state
land
were
being
destroyed
to
the
prejudice
of
innocent
purchasers.
“Most
people
had
welcomed
the
set-up
of
the
Commission
of
Inquiry
as
they
were
optimistic
that
the
implementation
of
the
recommendations
of
the
probe
team
would
bring
sanity
to
the
chaotic
and
unregulated
land
development.
“In
a
judgment
handed
down
on
24
December
2025,
Justice
Maxwell
Takuva
ruled
that
the
continued
withholding
of
the
Commission
of
Inquiry
Report
constitutes
a
violation
of
the
constitutional
right
to
access
information
as
the
right
guaranteed
under
section
62
of
the
Constitution
is
not
discretionary
but
is
a
direct
and
enforceable
entitlement
that
binds
all
state
institutions.
“Justice
Takuva
ruled
that
the
failure
to
make
public
a
report
of
such
national
importance
conveys
opacity
rather
than
transparency
and
secrecy
rather
than
accountability,
and
silence
rather
than
responsiveness.
“The
High
Court
Judge
stated
that
the
non-disclosure
of
the
Commission
of
Inquiry
Report
is
inconsistent
with
section
3(2)(g)
of
the
Constitution
and
offends
the
principles
of
good
governance
that
underpin
the
Republic
of
Zimbabwe.
“Justice
Takuva
ordered
and
directed
President
Mnangagwa
to
publish
and
make
accessible
to
the
public
the
Commission
of
Inquiry
Report
into
the
sale
of
state
land
in
and
around
urban
areas
since
2005
within
90
days
of
the
date
of
the
handing
down
of
the
judgment.”