16 Buhera families evicted from homes of 56 years

Sixteen families in Buhera are living in squalor at an old council beerhall after being evicted from their homes, which they had occupied for over 56 years, according to reports from the area. The eviction, carried out on December 9, 2025, has left 197 women, men, and children crammed into a single building, with 37 children unable to attend school.

The families, who had planted crops at the time, were forced to abandon their livelihoods. Village head William Mhere Ngundu said the eviction was executed by the Sheriff following a default court judgment of which the families were allegedly not notified. Ngundu insisted that the land historically belonged to the evicted families and appealed to authorities for urgent intervention.

"We are stranded. We have nowhere to go. This eviction has destroyed families, children are not going to school, and people have lost their livelihoods," Ngundu said.

Meanwhile, Village head Abia Makumbe Marume defended the evictions through his son, Amos Marume, claiming that the families had settled illegally on the land and accusing Ngundu of being a land baron selling property in the area. The court order reportedly states that the land partly belongs to Chatindo and partly to Marume Village.

The eviction has left families struggling to survive. Dorcas Bvukundwa, holding her one-month-old baby, said she and her nine other children now sleep in a single room at the beerhall, sharing the space with two goats. Five of her children have been forced to drop out of Marume Primary School.

Another evicted resident, Pasipamire Ndigume, who has five wives and 20 children, said the eviction wiped out his livelihood. He previously ran banana, sugarcane, avocado, and mango plots, which provided income for his family. "These projects sustained my family, but now my livelihood is gone. I am at zero, with no starting point," he said.

The dispute between Ngundu and Marume dates back to 2011, over a land boundary disagreement. Initial rulings favored Ngundu, but Marume appealed to the High Court, which in 2015 granted a default judgment in his favor after the respondents failed to appear. Ngundu has since filed an application for condonation to challenge the judgment.

The evictions have sparked concern over the welfare of the displaced families, who now face dire living conditions and loss of income and education opportunities.