Bulawayo, Sept 9, (Southern Eye Live):— Bulawayo provincial magistrate Beverley Madzikatire has ordered Umguza Rural District Council (URDC) to release an interdenominational organisation vehicle seized in June for illegally transporting firewood.
The court issued a default judgment after the local authority failed to enter an appearance in the proceedings.
The order followed an application by Churches in Bulawayo, an inter-denominational non-profit organisation, after its Mazda B2500 vehicle was seized by URDC officials on June 6，2026.
The vehicle was being driven by the organisation's treasurer, Fidel Dube, who was travelling with his family from their farm in Bubi District to their home in Trenance, Bulawayo.
Dube told the officials that the firewood had been felled at his family farm in Bubi and was being transported for domestic use.
Despite the explanation, the officials, who identified themselves as URDC rangers, allegedly ordered him to drive to the council offices and ordered him to pay a US$500 fine for allegedly transporting firewood without a permit.
The offence was cited as contravening Section 8(e) of the URDC (Communal and Resettlement Land) (Land Use and Conservation) By-laws, Statutory Instrument 179 of 1996.
Dube subsequently made several attempts to have the vehicle released but without success. He even wrote to the URDC chief executive officer challenging the legality of the seizure.
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According to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), the council insisted the seizure was lawful.
Dube then sought legal assistance from ZLHR lawyers Prisca Dube and Sipho Moyo, who onJuly 15，2026 wrote to URDC demanding the release of the vehicle within 48 hours.
The lawyers argued that the seizure was not justified under the Forest (Control of Firewood, Timber and Forest Produce) Regulations, 2012 (SI 116/2012) and the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act.
They further challenged the US$500 penalty, arguing that it was excessive and inconsistent with the applicable law.
When URDC failed to release the vehicle, the lawyers filed an application at the Bulawayo Magistrates Court on July 24， 2026, arguing that the continued seizure was unlawful and violated Churches in Bulawayo's constitutional right to property.
The lawyers also argued that Section 8(e) of the URDC by-laws regulates the collection or removal of firewood from communal and resettlement land within URDC's jurisdiction.
Since the firewood had allegedly been collected at a farm in Bubi District, outside URDC's jurisdiction, the lawyers argued that the by-laws could not lawfully be applied to Dube's circumstances.
They further contended that under SI 116 of 2012, transporting firewood for domestic use did not constitute an offence in the circumstances and that a permit requirement applied to consignments exceeding 0.5 cubic metres.
The lawyers said the firewood transported by Dube did not exceed that threshold and that URDC officials had failed to establish otherwise.
Magistrate Madzikatire ordered URDC to release the vehicle.
The judgment brings to an end a two-month dispute in which Church in Bulawayo was deprived of a vehicle used in its organisational activities.
