Businessman takes Air Force to court over Falcon Golf Club

Prominent businessman Alex Elias Mashamhanda has taken the Air Force of Zimbabwe to the High Court, accusing military personnel of forcibly taking over Falcon Golf Club in Harare in a dispute over control of the upmarket facility.

Mashamhanda, a trustee of Falcon Golf Club, has filed an urgent chamber application seeking the restoration of the club's possession after alleging that Air Force personnel invaded the premises, removed doors and ceilings and began repainting buildings in military colours.

The Minister of Defence, the Commander of the Air Force of Zimbabwe and the Air Force itself have been cited as respondents.

According to court papers filed on Thursday, the alleged takeover began on September 5 when two Air Force Group Captains, identified as Kereke and Dube, entered the premises without the club's permission.

"They invaded our premises without our permission taking down doors and ceilings and started painting the 3rd respondent's colours on to our buildings," Mashamhanda said in his founding affidavit.

He alleged that the officers informed employees that the Air Force was taking over the premises and property belonging to the golf club.

Mashamhanda described the development as a "brazen hostile takeover", arguing that the military could not take possession of property occupied by the club without first obtaining a court order.

The dispute escalated on September 12 when the Air Force hosted what court papers describe as the Zimbabwe Inter-Service Golf Team Championship at the facility.

Mashamhanda said club members were prevented from accessing the clubhouse and other amenities during the event, which was attended by representatives of Zimbabwe's defence and security services.

He said the Air Force Commander delivered the keynote address before the facility was purportedly opened as the "Airforce Falcon Golf Club".

"To add salt to the applicant's wound, the 3rd respondent purported to officially open the Airforce Falcon Golf Club," Mashamhanda said.

The businessman maintained that Falcon Golf Club had never voluntarily surrendered the property or its improvements.

"The actions of the 2nd and 3rd respondent smack of a brazen hostile takeover of the premises that belong to the applicant," he said.

Falcon Golf Club claims it has occupied the property under a lease agreement with the City of Harare dating back to June 1971. According to the club, the lease remains valid until June 29, 2070.

The club says it developed the property into a golf course, clubhouse, manager's house and other amenities in fulfilment of its obligations under the lease.

Mashamhanda put the value of the improvements at more than US$2 million, although he said a formal valuation was still being undertaken.

The dispute was further complicated by the Defence Ministry's gazetting of Statutory Instrument 210 of 2025, which placed the relevant land under the control of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces as a cantonment.

However, the club maintains that the designation did not terminate its lease or amount to a court-sanctioned eviction.

Mashamhanda said the club remained in peaceful possession despite the notices until the alleged takeover in September.

He said the club had attempted to resolve the dispute without going to court, including efforts to secure meetings with Air Force leadership.

"Whilst the applicant's lawyers were in the process of studying the matter and hoping to invoke processes that would result in an amicable resolution of the dispute between the parties, the 3rd respondent escalated its spoliation conduct," he said.

The club is asking the High Court to restore it to possession of the golf course, clubhouse, employee houses and other amenities pending determination of the wider dispute.

Mashamhanda argues that even if the military claims ownership or control of the land, that does not entitle it to remove a party in peaceful possession without following the applicable legal process.

"The respondents cannot act in defiance of the law by disregarding the procedures that need to be invoked by a land owner to lawfully evict any third party that is enjoying peaceful and undisturbed possession," he said.

The application was filed as an urgent matter, with the club arguing that continued occupation by the Air Force could expose it to further financial losses and prejudice.

The matter is yet to be heard, and the allegations contained in Mashamhanda's court papers have not been determined by the High Court.