Zimbabwe's climate migrants fear eviction as crackdown intensifies
Thousands fleeing drought-hit areas of Zimbabwe and settling in the fertile Eastern Highlands now face possible eviction as the government intensifies a crackdown on illegal settlements.
Zimbabwe's Eastern Highlands, a fertile mountain region stretching about 320 km along the border with Mozambique, have become a destination for thousands of people fleeing increasingly harsh climatic conditions in the country's dry lowlands. With reliable rainfall, rich soils and perennial rivers, the area has attracted climate migrants hoping to rebuild their lives. However, they now fear forced removal as the government tightens enforcement against illegal settlements.
At a stakeholder meeting last month in Mutare, Zimbabwe's Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Misheck Mugadza, announced a tougher stance. He directed the Zimbabwe Republic Police and the National Prosecuting Authority to intensify arrests and prosecutions of traditional leaders, middlemen and government officials implicated in unlawful land allocations. "There is zero tolerance for corruption," Mugadza said. The Environmental Management Agency was instructed to enforce environmental impact assessments and protection laws in ecologically sensitive areas.
Many migrants, like 43-year-old Lloyd Gweshengwe, who moved to the Eastern Highlands 18 years ago from drought-prone Mutare district, say they have nowhere else to go. This farming season brought him hope with a good maize harvest sufficient to feed his family for a year. But he fears eviction. Similarly, Simon Chanakira, 44, relocated from the drought-prone Chitora area. Independent researcher Trymore Maganga noted that illegal settlements have become a coping strategy for climate-affected households, though not a long-term solution.
Human rights lawyer Blessing Nyamaropa said Zimbabwe lacks a policy framework for climate-induced migration. "Anyone who occupies land without following due process is regarded as an illegal occupier," he said. Nyamaropa called for greater awareness and structured responses to climate-driven displacement. For now, Gweshengwe continues tending his fields while waiting for clarity. "We don't have anywhere else to go," he said.
