Harare -Zimbabwean multimillionaire businessman Shingai Mutasa is leading a court battle to stop construction that residents say threatens a protected wetland in Harare’s wealthy Glen Lorne suburb.
The matter has been set down before Justice Samuel Deme.
Mutasa, whose business interests span hotels, insurance, fertiliser manufacturing and leisure centres, is among 26 residents seeking an urgent High Court interdict against developer Zhuomu International. He is the founder and group chief executive of Masawara.
The dispute centres on boundary wall construction at Stand 4717, where the developer proposes building 21 standalone villas and 75 cluster homes, according to Mutasa’s founding affidavit. Residents say excavation and trenching have entered an area excluded from development under the project’s environmental approval.
Mutasa argues that continued construction could irreversibly damage the wetland and disrupt water supplies beyond the neighbourhood. An ecological report cited in his affidavit warns of harm to local and downstream water availability and quality, including risks from reduced groundwater recharge, pollution and increased runoff.
The residents also want the City of Harare, Environmental Management Agency and water authorities compelled to release permits, plans and other approval records so they can challenge the lawfulness of the disputed works. Technical committee minutes attached to the application record 452 written objections to the proposed development.
Those minutes also record the City of Harare’s position that the boundary wall works followed approved plans, although officials still needed to confirm whether the drawings incorporated EMA’s wetland protection requirements. Mutasa’s affidavit says Zhuomu denied that its activities were unlawful.
The application was set down before Justice Deme at the High Court in Harare for Monday, 14 September 2026, at 10am. The attached documents contain no ruling.
The continued construction on Harare’s wetlands exposes a culture of lawlessness that the Zimbabwean government has allowed to persist for years through its failure to enforce environmental protections consistently.
Central government, local authorities and environmental regulators cannot escape responsibility when wetlands are turned into residential and commercial developments despite repeated warnings about the consequences.
The Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association has documented failures to implement protective policies, land corruption and development proceeding under the authorities’ noses even when it violates environmental laws.
This is a failure of governance and accountability, with residents left to bear the environmental and financial costs.
Wetlands must be protected because they are essential to Harare’s water supply and its ability to withstand flooding. They absorb and store rainwater, release it gradually into streams and rivers, help replenish groundwater, filter pollutants and provide habitats for wildlife.
Covering them with buildings, roads and concrete damages these natural functions, increasing flood risks and worsening the pressures on an already struggling water system. Protecting wetlands means protecting homes, public health and the water supplies of present and future generations.