Mnangagwa ignores court order on Uchena Report

The full Justice Tendai Uchena Commission report into Zimbabwe's multi-billion-dollar illegal urban land sales has still not been made public despite a High Court order compelling President Emmerson Mnangagwa to release the report by December 24, 2025.

Former Member of Parliament Allan Markham, who approached the courts seeking the publication of the report, confirmed that the complete document remains unavailable to the public.

"The report is yet to be released in full. We are in discussions and will respond whether we run up against a brick wall or not," Markham told Masvingo Mirror.

The Uchena Commission completed its inquiry in 2019 and handed its findings to Mnangagwa on December 9, 2019.

However, the full report was not subsequently published.

Markham challenged the continued withholding of the report in the High Court, arguing that the failure to make it public violated citizens' constitutional right to access information.

In his case, Markham sought an order compelling Mnangagwa to release the complete report.

Justice Maxwell Takuva, sitting at the High Court in Harare, subsequently ordered the President to make the Uchena Commission report public within 90 days.

The deadline for compliance was therefore December 24, 2025.

Following the court order, Mnangagwa gazetted a document containing the Commission's findings and recommendations.

However, Markham argues that the document released by the government does not amount to publication of the full Commission report as ordered by the court.

"The report is yet to be released in full," he said, indicating that discussions were continuing over the matter.

Lawyer Alec Muchadehama, who represented Markham through Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, said the government had engaged him and acknowledged that it had made a mistake after initially indicating that the full report would be published shortly.

Mnangagwa established the Uchena Commission of Inquiry in January 2018 to investigate the unlawful and chaotic sale of State and municipal urban land across Zimbabwe.

The inquiry examined allegations surrounding the activities of land barons who were accused of illegally acquiring, subdividing and selling urban and peri-urban land to unsuspecting home seekers.

The Commission's findings reportedly put the value of land involved in illegal transactions at nearly US$3 billion, highlighting the scale of the alleged abuse of public and State land.

Among the recommendations was that individuals involved in the illegal subdivision and sale of urban land should be investigated and, where appropriate, prosecuted.

The Commission also made recommendations aimed at strengthening the administration and allocation of urban land and addressing weaknesses that had allowed illegal land sales to flourish.

Following the Commission's work, authorities arrested several individuals accused of involvement in illegal land dealings.

However, the suspects were subsequently released, while the full contents of the Commission's report remained unavailable to the public.

The continued withholding of the complete report has therefore renewed questions about the implementation of the Commission's recommendations and the extent to which those implicated in the illegal land transactions were held accountable.

Markham's legal challenge was premised on the argument that citizens have a constitutional right to access information of significant public interest, particularly where the information concerns the administration and disposal of public resources.

With the court-ordered deadline having passed, the dispute now centres on whether the document gazetted by the government constitutes sufficient compliance with the High Court order or whether the complete Uchena Commission report must still be published.

Markham and his legal representatives are continuing discussions with the government, with further legal action potentially following if the full report is not released.