Zim GBC News | Crimes and Courts
HARARE – A group of war veterans has successfully defended their land rights against a claim by a Chinese national, bringing a long and bitter ownership wrangle over a prime piece of Harare land to an end.
The members of the Takunda Freedom Fighters Housing Cooperative Society have residential stands on a 113-hectare piece of land in the Stoneridge area. The dispute erupted when Xinfeng Li, represented by his personal assistant Innocent Taru, claimed legitimate ownership of a 20-hectare portion within the veterans’ territory, presenting title deeds to support his case.
The matter, which spilled into the Harare High Court, was ultimately resolved by a definitive clarification from the Surveyor-General’s office. The veterans had consistently argued that the land was allocated to them by the government and was gazetted as state land in 2006.
In a turn of events, Li filed an application for dismissal of his own action after the Surveyor-General’s investigation revealed he was mistakenly targeting the wrong property.
“In a letter dated September 17, 2025, the Surveyor-General’s office stated that the two properties in question are standalone properties and went further to attach diagrams to support this position,” read the court papers filed by Li’s representatives.
The letter from the Surveyor-General, signed by R. Mupondi, explicitly confirmed the veterans’ stance:
“After going through the contents of your letter, I would like to bring to your attention that Subdivision A of Nyarungu of Subdivision A of Stoneridge measuring 20.2321ha is a stand-alone property.”
A representative for the Takunda Freedom Fighters Cooperative expressed relief at the outcome.
“We have always known this land was legally ours, allocated to us for the resettlement of our members in 2017. We are grateful that the truth has prevailed and the courts have upheld our right to this land,” the representative stated.
The war veterans maintain they were allocated the land for housing development in 2017, long before Li’s claim emerged.
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