Cde Patriot Sunungura
There is an adage currently making the rounds on Zimbabwean streets that says: “Gara uine data — loosely translated to “always have mobile data.”
This saying reflects the endless political drama constantly bubbling out of this teapot-shaped country and the growing need for citizens to stay connected just to keep pace with the never-ending chaos unfolding by the hour.
The latest spectacle comes from the escalating situation at Gilston Farm, where settlers deemed illegal occupants have been ordered to vacate the land within seven days.
Government says it has projects earmarked for the area, despite hundreds of families currently living there.
Ironically, many of those same settlers were previously a vital cog in Zanu PF’s election campaigns and citizen mobilization efforts during the Constitutional Amendment Bill No.3 (CAB3).
The farm, where citizens allegedly acquired land through Walter Magaya under dubious circumstances, has triggered fierce debate around citizens’ constitutional right to shelter.
Housing remains a right guaranteed under Zimbabwe’s Bill of Rights and the national Constitution.
On May 8, 2026, Local Government Minister Daniel Garwe visited the farm for what was expected to be a government-citizen engagement with affected residents.
Instead, the meeting quickly descended into what resembled a political rally.
Witnesses say bused-in supporters forced settlers to ululate and cheer for their own eviction.
The scenes were sombre and surreal.
To some observers, they resembled colonial-era images where oppressed black Africans were made to applaud the very architects of their suffering.
Residents could reportedly be heard cheering as Garwe bluntly told them to return to wherever they had come from, insisting government was in no position to assist them.
During his address, Garwe lashed out at controversial clergyman Walter Magaya, describing him as a fake prophet who allegedly used his influence to dupe desperate citizens into buying non-existent stands.
He accused Magaya of misleading people into believing stands were legally available in areas where no pegging authority existed.
Critics, however, were quick to point out the irony.
When Magaya allegedly parceled out the stands, government officials appeared conspicuously silent.
In some instances, officially recognized authorities reportedly accompanied the processes, giving legitimacy to the entire operation.
Garwe’s latest outbursts, critics argue, amount to little more than emotional political theatre lacking any coherent national vision.
Magaya himself has long courted controversy and carries a deeply polarizing public image.
Allegations and scandals surrounding his name have persisted for years, making illegal land deals appear almost routine by comparison.
The Zimbabwean government now appears determined to throw out both the baby and the bathwater.
For affected residents, the eviction order effectively punishes ordinary citizens for the alleged sins of politically connected prophets and land barons.
Critics argue that once the settlers had served their purpose in political mobilization and Amendment Bill campaigns, they became disposable.
With elections seemingly distant, some observers say government has now unleashed what they call its “fake crocodile” to insult and denigrate struggling citizens.
When all is said and done, critics argue the episode exposes Zanu PF’s double standards in its treatment of ordinary citizens — people who are often used, abused and discarded when politically convenient.
While settlers face eviction, Magaya remains free and government officials who allegedly enabled the chaos appear untouched.
To critics, the evictions form part of a broader pattern aimed at weakening citizens’ rights and consolidating unchecked power.
The Constitution recognizes housing as a human right, yet those intoxicated by authority increasingly behave as though laws exist merely to be twisted at will.
For many observers, this is precisely the fear surrounding CAB3 that if authorities can behave this way with limited power, what happens when they grant themselves even more?
