Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe has been sucked into a high stakes land ownership battle involving cement manufacturing company PPC and Nyikavanhu Housing Cooperative.
At the centre of the controversy is Subdivision E of Arlington Estate, 530 hectare legally allocated to Nyikavanhu Housing Cooperative in 2006 through a letter issued by the Ministry of Local Government.
According to court documents in possession of 263chat.com and filed by Nyikavanhu Cooperative on April 15, 2025 under High Court Case No. HCC1815/25, the Ministry allegedly under Minister Garwe’s influence facilitated the creation of a forged offer letter for the same land in favor of PPC.
A trail of documents including a 2006 offer letter, a 2013 confirmation from Harare Metropolitan Province, a 2010 Government Gazette and clearance from Civil Aviation confirm Nyikavanhu’s legal claim to the land.
A separate High Court ruling (Case No. HCH1665/24) reaffirmed the allocation. Despite this, the Ministry issued PPC a new offer letter and deed of transfer without withdrawing Nyikavanhu’s original documents. The Ministry issued a fresh offer letter to a private company Secureit (Pvt) Ltd in February 2024 and a Deed of Transfer (No. 6168/2024) in March 2025.
Even more controversial was the public handover of the disputed land’s title deeds by President Emmerson Mnangagwa on April 11, 2025. President Mnangagwa officiated the event, igniting speculation over whether the act was a calculated attempt by Minister Garwe to legitimise the forged transaction or a move to silence the cooperative.
Attempts to reach officials from Nyikavanhu Housing Cooperative, PPC and the Ministry were unsuccessful.
