HARARE – Prominent businessman Alex Elias Mashamhanda has taken the Air Force of Zimbabwe to the High Court, accusing military personnel of forcibly taking over Falcon Golf Club in a dispute that allegedly descended into a confrontation over control of the upmarket Harare golf facility.

Mashamhanda, a trustee of Falcon Golf Club, filed an urgent chamber application seeking the restoration of the club’s possession after alleging that Air Force personnel invaded the premises, removed doors and ceilings and began repainting buildings in military colours.

He cited the Minister of Defence, the Commander of the Air Force of Zimbabwe and the Air Force itself as respondents.

According to the application filed on Thursday, the alleged takeover began on September 5 when two Air Force Group Captains, identified as Kereke and Dube, entered the premises without the club’s permission.

“They invaded our premises without our permission taking down doors and ceilings and started painting the 3rd respondent’s colours on to our buildings,” Mashamhanda said in his founding affidavit.

He said the officers told employees that the Air Force was taking over the premises and property belonging to the golf club.

Mashamhanda described the development as an alleged “brazen hostile takeover”, arguing that the military could not simply take possession of property occupied by the club without first obtaining a court order.

The dispute escalated further on September 12 when the Air Force hosted what the court papers describe as the Zimbabwe Inter-Service Golf Team Championship at the facility.

Hostile takeover … A plaque claiming golf course was ‘officially opened’ by the Air Force of Zimbabwe commander
The Falcon Golf Club clubhouse repainted by the Air Force of Zimbabwe

Mashamhanda said club members were prevented from accessing the clubhouse and other amenities during the event, which was attended by representatives of Zimbabwe’s defence and security services.

He said the Air Force Commander delivered the keynote address before the Air Force purportedly opened the facility as the “Airforce Falcon Golf Club”.

“To add salt to the applicant’s wound, the 3rd respondent purported to officially open the Airforce Falcon Golf Club,” Mashamhanda said.

The businessman said the club had not voluntarily surrendered the property or its improvements.

“The actions of the 2nd and 3rd respondent smack of a brazen hostile takeover of the premises that belong to the applicant,” he said.

Falcon Golf Club argues that it has occupied the property under a lease agreement with the City of Harare dating back to June 1971, which it says remains valid until June 29, 2070.

The club says it developed the property into a golf course, clubhouse, manager’s house and other amenities in fulfilment of its obligations under the lease.

Mashamhanda estimated the value of the improvements at more than US$2 million, although he said a formal valuation was being undertaken.

The dispute intensified after the Defence Ministry gazetted Statutory Instrument 210 of 2025, placing the relevant land under the control of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces as a cantonment.

The club maintains that the cantonment did not terminate its lease or amount to a court-sanctioned eviction.

Mashamhanda said the club remained in peaceful possession despite the notices until the alleged takeover in September.

He said the club had attempted to resolve the matter without litigation, including trying to secure meetings with the Air Force leadership.

“Whilst the applicant’s lawyers were in the process of studying the matter and hoping to invoke processes that would result in an amicable resolution of the dispute between the parties, the 3rd respondent escalated its spoliation conduct,” he said.

The club is asking the High Court to restore it to possession of the golf course, clubhouse, employee houses and other amenities pending determination of the dispute.

Mashamhanda argues that the military’s claim to ownership of the land does not give it the right to remove a party in peaceful possession without following due legal process.

“The respondents cannot act in defiance of the law by disregarding the procedures that need to be invoked by a land owner to lawfully evict any third party that is enjoying peaceful and undisturbed possession,” he said.

The application was filed as an urgent matter, with the club arguing that continued occupation by the Air Force could expose it to further financial losses and prejudice.

The matter is yet to be heard.