More than 3,000 village heads are facing arrest for illegally parcelling and selling communal and State land, Local Government and Public Works Permanent Secretary Tafadzwa Muguti has said.
Muguti said the village heads were flagged during a rapid 14-day national sweep conducted while he was still Permanent Secretary for Presidential Affairs and Devolution.
The exercise uncovered 11,650 hectares of land that had been unlawfully sold in the most affected areas.
Zimbabwe has more than 35,000 village heads.
Muguti was speaking at a meeting with chairpersons of Provincial Assemblies of Chiefs, Directors of Local Government Services and District Development Coordinators (DDCs) in Harare on Tuesday.
He warned that the crackdown will intensify following his full-time deployment to the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works.
“Fortunately, in my previous assignment, I was in charge of coordinating provinces, and these deal-making village heads were a primary focus on my desk,” he said.
“In just two weeks, when we were assigned to conduct a national sweep of the most affected areas, we uncovered 11,650 hectares of land that had been sold, with over 3,000 village heads implicated.
“There are over 3,000 of them, and fortunately I have now arrived so we will soon start arresting them.”
Muguti said village heads who did not directly benefit from the sales will not be spared if they failed to report illegal occupations.
“Any village head who is involved, or who failed to report an invasion to the headman, chief, or police and simply allowed it to happen is equally guilty of dereliction of duty.
“Corruption takes two forms: receiving a bribe, or looking the other way,” he said.
“We shall be suspending village heads in any village where stands have been pegged without being reported, and where leaders are cohabiting with illegal settlers.
Once found guilty, those suspended village heads will be arrested.”
He dismissed the notion that traditional leaders enjoy immunity from prosecution.
“I would like to state clearly that there has been a myth that traditional leaders cannot be arrested or prosecuted before the courts of law,” he said.
“I want to demystify that myth: the only person with immunity from arrest in this country is the President.
“Everyone else must answer for themselves in court.”Muguti said the ministry has established its first Department of Research and Investigations
It will probe chieftainship disputes, service delivery complaints and criminal allegations against traditional leaders.
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