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HomeNewsWestgate Land War as Windmill, War Vets in Explosive Showdown

Westgate Land War as Windmill, War Vets in Explosive Showdown

By Takudzwa Tondoya

A fierce legal and political battle has erupted over land in Westgate, Harare, with Windmill (Private) Limited accusing alleged land barons of fraudulently selling residential stands while a company linked to war veterans insists the property rightfully belongs to them under the country’s land reform programme.

In a statement, Windmill warned the public that it is the lawful owner of Lot FA Kinvara, measuring 65 hectares, which is being illegally marketed as “Tsikwi Phase 1 (Westgate Extension).”

The company named Aspire Mutingwende, Taremedzwa Kapungu, and their associates, operating through Redrev (Pvt) Ltd, as the ringleaders behind what it described as a fraudulent scheme.

“Members of the public are strongly warned against entering into any agreements, making payments, or committing to stand allocations being offered by these individuals or their representatives on the Windmill land,” the company said, adding that buyers risk financial ruin and protracted legal disputes.

Windmill cited a High Court order issued on 7 August 2025 under Case No. HCH3919/25, which directed Kapungu, Mutingwende and all their associates to vacate the land.

The Sheriff of Zimbabwe has been authorised to enforce the eviction if necessary.

The company said it is working with the police and other authorities to protect the public from what it described as “fraudulent land barons.”

In a dramatic counter-statement, Tsikwi Veterans Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd accused Windmill of spreading “false and damaging allegations” against its urban development project at Kinvara Estate, Mt Hampden.

Tsikwi insists the land was acquired during the government’s land reform programme and allocated to Kapungu through an official offer letter in 2012 supported by previous High Court rulings.

The veterans’ group accused Windmill of hiding behind what it called a “colonial era deed from 1905” in a bid to displace them.

“The land reform programme is irreversible. Veterans did not liberate Zimbabwe for colonial era laws to be upheld,” Tsikwi said warning that it was prepared to take the matter to the Supreme and Constitutional courts if necessary.

The company, which says it represents veterans, youths and residents of Mt Hampden pledged to press ahead with the Tsikwi Phase 1 housing scheme which it claims is already undergoing regularisation under the Ministry of Local Government.

The dispute pits corporate property rights against land reform entitlements, in a case that highlights Zimbabwe’s long-running tensions over land ownership. With both sides citing court rulings in their favour and involving the police and Sheriff’s Office, the standoff is expected to escalate further in the courts and possibly in the political arena.

For now, ordinary home seekers remain caught in the crossfire unsure whether their investments in the contested stands will ever be secure.

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