Defence (Cantonment) (Zimbabwe Military Academy) Notice, 2024 (No. 52)
1 300 hectares of Gweru township land around the Zimbabwe Military Academy is declared a military cantonment, and the 1967 Southern Rhodesia cantonments notice is repealed.
The Minister of Defence has declared the Zimbabwe Military Academy area in Gweru district to be a cantonment for the purposes of Part IX of the Defence Act. Cantonment status brings the area under military control provisions, restricting access and activity on the land.
The declared area covers 1 300 hectares of Gweru township land. It is bounded on the north by the Gweru CBD and Windsor Park Township, on the east by Coolmoreen and Senga Townships, on the south by Shurugwi and Vungu districts, and on the west by Southdowns, Ivene and Lundi Park Townships. The notice gives sixteen UTM reference points in SRID Zone 35K on the Modified Clarke 1880 spheroid, and refers to two 1:50 000 maps — Gweru 1929 B4 Edition 2 and Guinea Fowl 1929 D2 Edition 2 — held at the Surveyor-General's office in Bulawayo.
A plan showing the boundary may be inspected free of charge at the office of the Secretary for Defence, Defence House, Kwame Nkrumah Avenue, Harare. Anyone whose property or route abuts the area should inspect that plan rather than rely on the coordinate list.
The notice also repeals the Defence (Cantonments) (Southern Rhodesia) Notice, 1967 (RGN 367 of 1967), so this replaces a colonial-era declaration rather than adding to it. No commencement date is stated; the notice was gazetted on 1 March 2024.
What changed
- 1 300 hectares of Gweru township land around the Zimbabwe Military Academy is declared a cantonment under Part IX of the Defence Act
- The boundary is fixed by sixteen UTM reference points and shown on a plan open for inspection at Defence House, Harare
- The Defence (Cantonments) (Southern Rhodesia) Notice, 1967 (RGN 367 of 1967) is repealed
Who this affects
- residents of Senga, Coolmoreen, Windsor Park, Southdowns, Ivene and Lundi Park in Gweru
- the Zimbabwe Military Academy and Defence Forces personnel
- Gweru City Council planners and surveyors
- landowners and developers with property adjoining the declared area
Plain-language summary — not legal advice. Always read the full instrument.