Chikerema widow challenges homeowners association over road closure

THE widow of liberation war hero James Chikerema, Philda Molly Chikerema, has renewed her legal challenge against the Mount Breezes Home Owners Association over the continued restriction of access to a disputed road in Borrowdale, Harare, despite a prior High Court ruling invalidating the gated-community arrangement.

The dispute centres on a road linking Mount Breezes and neighbouring Crowhill, which Chikerema argues was unlawfully closed after City of Harare-approved amendments to Subdivision Permit SD/381 effectively allowed parts of the development to operate as a gated community.

Chikerema maintains that the closure was effected without her consent as the lawful permit holder, and that the ongoing erection of a perimeter wall amounts to defiance of a High Court judgment that nullified the amendments.

Court records show that Chikerema owns Subdivision E of Lot H of Borrowdale Estate, measuring 42.525 hectares and held under Deed of Transfer 7544/85. She was granted a subdivision permit in April 1999 following an application submitted in September 1997, which led to the creation of 62 residential stands, with her retaining Stand 19.

As part of the permit conditions, she was required to upgrade internal roads for public use, and in January 2007 the City of Harare issued a certificate of compliance confirming that all conditions had been met.

The dispute escalated in 2015 when the Mount Breezes Home Owners Association applied to convert part of the development into a gated community. The City of Harare approved the application on November 18, 2015, a decision Chikerema has consistently contested.

She argued that the approval unlawfully converted a public road into a private access route without her consent, in violation of Section 40(10) of the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act, which requires consultation with the permit holder before any amendment is made to a subdivision permit.

Following the approval, boom gates were installed at the intersection of Luna and Crowhill roads, restricting public access and triggering legal action from affected residents, including Crowhill homeowners under case number HC 7052/21.

In correspondence dated April 21, 2021, the City of Harare acknowledged that it had assumed Chikerema was aware of and had consented to the amendments. However, she disputed this claim and pursued legal remedies.

The matter was later determined by the High Court, where the late Justice Owen Tagu ruled in favour of Chikerema, declaring the City of Harare's amendment null and void.

"The import of that provision is that when the planning authority, in this case the City of Harare, wants to amend a permit granted to the permit holder, the permit holder's permission must first be sought," Justice Tagu ruled.

"In casu, the applicant never agreed to her subdivision permit being amended by the City of Harare. She was never consulted."

The court further found that the city had infringed Chikerema's statutory rights and that it was aware she, and not the homeowners association, was the lawful permit holder.

Despite the ruling, Chikerema now alleges that efforts to enclose the area and restrict access have continued, including reported plans by the homeowners association to construct a precast perimeter wall.

The Mount Breezes Home Owners Association had not yet publicly responded to the renewed allegations at the time of publication.