The Masvingo High Court has found that the government violated the procedural fairness rights of 22 farmers occupying Richmond farm when the land was allocated to a private company without consulting them or giving them an opportunity to make representations.
However, despite ruling that the decision-making process was procedurally unfair and irregular, Justice Christopher Dube-Banda dismissed the farmers’ application to set aside an offer letter and title deed issued to AFC Holdings Limited.
The judge ruled that the relief sought by the Richmond Farm Residents’ Association would serve no practical purpose because the farm had since been converted from agricultural to urban land and incorporated into Masvingo’s urban development plans.
The judgement was handed down last month following a hearing that began on February 23.
The dispute dates back to around 2001/2002, when association members were allocated portions of the 1 210-hectare farm for agricultural purposes and issued with offer letters that were never withdrawn.
Years later, the government allocated the farm to AFC Holdings, which obtained Deed of Transfer 7534/22.
The farmers said they only became aware of the development in May 2025 after AFC’s lawyers advised them of the company’s intention to commence construction.
Dube-Banda agreed that the farmers’ right to procedural fairness had been violated.
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“Procedural fairness required that adequate notice be given of the proposed repossession; and a reasonable opportunity to make adequate representations be given before the applicant’s members’ property rights were taken away,” he said.
He rejected the Ministry of Lands’ argument that it was only required to notify the farmers of the withdrawal of their offer letters, ruling that ministers exercising administrative powers cannot act arbitrarily.
“The applicant’s members were condemned unheard, in a case where their rights, interests, and legitimate expectations are affected,” Dube-Banda ruled.
However, the judge found that cancelling AFC’s offer letter and title deed would not undo the broader government decisions underpinning the development.
He noted that a Cabinet directive had authorised the handover of the land to the ministry of Local Government, and an amended Masvingo urban master plan had designated Richmond Farm as urban land.
“If this superstructure is intact, setting aside the offer letter and the Deed of Transfer would serve no useful purpose,” he ruled.
He also declined to interrogate the validity of the land-use conversion, master plan and Cabinet directive because those issues had not been pleaded or included in the relief sought by the association.
While dismissing the application, Dube-Banda declined to order the farmers to pay costs, noting they had occupied the land for many years and the government proceeded with the change of land use without informing or hearing them.
“Their offer letters were not withdrawn; in fact, the permanent secretary in the Lands ministry says the ministry is in the process of issuing withdrawals of offer letters,” he said.
The court added that the farmers had genuinely suffered a violation of procedural fairness, even though the remedy they sought could no longer practically be granted.
The application was dismissed with no order as to costs.
