Tendai Ruben Mbofana
Across the dusty landscapes of rural Zimbabwe and the densely populated townships of our cities, the roar of government bulldozers has once again become the defining sound of state authority.
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What we are witnessing—from the flattened homesteads in Murombedzi in Zvimba district, to the razed structures in Whitecliff, Stoneridge, St Martins, and Belvedere—is nothing short of Operational Murambatsvina 2.0.
It is a ruthless campaign that reduces families’ life savings, brick by brick, into piles of rubble.
From urban peripheries to communal lands, homes that took years to construct are being flattened in a matter of minutes, leaving citizens stranded in the cold without shelter or recourse.
The official justification from local authorities and government ministries is always impeccably clinical.
They cite spatial planning, the protection of agricultural reserves, the enforcement of municipal bylaws, and the need to restore order.
Yet, these bureaucratic explanations ignore a glaring, common-sense question: where were these enforcement officers when the foundations were being dug?
A house does not mushroom overnight.
Bricklaying, roofing, and utility connections take months and years of visible, open activity.
To allow citizens to pour their hard-earned money into these structures for years, only to show up with heavy machinery today, reveals a deeper, more sinister agenda.
The truth is that these illegal settlements were permitted to thrive out of pure political expediency.
Those in power, acutely aware that the allocations were unlawful, deliberately turned a blind eye because they desperately needed the public’s votes during election cycles.
They weaponized the land hunger of vulnerable citizens, offering informal plots as currency to secure political support.
This deception was further reinforced when top government offices began issuing title deeds to previously unregulated land occupants, broadcasting a false guarantee to the masses that if they built now, their illegal occupancy would eventually be regularized.
It was a cruel political game designed to harvest votes from a desperate electorate.
This system was powered by influential figures within the ruling establishment—ZANU-PF officials, government actors, and traditional leaders—who profited by selling land they had no authority to convey.
For years, traditional chiefs and village heads carried out notorious ‘Sabhuku deals’ in full view of the state.
The government permitted these illegal transactions precisely because it relied on these traditional leaders to mobilize rural communities and maintain a tight grip on voter turnout.
Furthermore, rural areas have traditionally been considered ruling party strongholds.
Then came the Constitutional Amendment No. 3 Act (CAA3), which extended the terms of office for the president, members of parliament, and local councilors without a public vote or national referendum.
Ironically, the very people whose homes are being crushed today in areas like Seke, Murombedzi, and Harare South were likely among those mobilized under the banner of ‘development and prosperity’ to endorse these term extensions.
Barely two months after these constitutional amendments were signed into law, the masks have fallen.
The same authorities whose mandates were artificially prolonged have unleashed bulldozers on the very communities that cheered them on.
What we are witnessing is the brutal logic of a ruling elite that was awarded extra time and is now serving out a tenure where they no longer depend on the people’s ballot.
Under the new constitutional framework, even if another term were pursued through further legal trickery, the president would be selected by parliament rather than a direct popular vote.
The necessity to court the electorate has been entirely removed.
These house demolitions validate what constitutional defenders repeatedly warned: a political leadership that no longer needs to be elected by the people stops caring, or even pretending to care, about the people.
The imperative to please voters vanishes the moment public accountability is detached from power.
This reality becomes exponentially more dangerous during an elite’s final stretch in office, where the incentive to maintain popular goodwill disappears completely.
More unearned time in office simply equates to more time to execute anti-people policies without fear of retribution at the ballot box.
Instead of two remaining years of governing with an eye on the next election, ordinary Zimbabweans are now locked into at least four more years of unmitigated hardship.
A prolonged period where the state can destroy livelihoods with absolute impunity.
We are entering a dark era where the governable have given up their leverage, leaving an unchecked administration free to make the lives of ordinary citizens a living hell.
Giving more time to leaders who no longer need your vote is an invitation to your own destruction.
- Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to contact him on +263715667700 or mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com