Communal Land (Excision of Land) Notice, 2026
Two areas of Hwange communal land are excised by presidential notice — a corridor from Sizinda shops along the Zambezi gorges to Chisuma, and a block at Kalisine between the Mpongola river and the Bulawayo–Victoria Falls road.
The President has removed two pieces of land from Hwange communal land under section 6(1)(b) of the Communal Land Act. Land that ceases to be communal land stops being administered by the rural district council under the communal tenure regime, which is why an excision notice matters to anyone farming, grazing or building on it.
The first area, described as Sizinda–Chisuma along the Zambezi River, starts at a culvert at Sizinda shops, runs 1.56km north to where a stream crosses the Victoria Falls National Park fence, follows the park fence 2.77km east and a further 1.01km to where it meets the Zambezi gorge, then runs 18.1km east along the gorge, 3.85km south to an open-season gravel road, 6.23km along that road to the Old Mutual (Rapid 25) road, 1.06km along it to the Chisuma–Deka road, and back west to the starting culvert.
The second area, Kalisine in Hwange Rural District Council, starts at the Mpongola river bridge, runs 4.61km east along the Bulawayo–Victoria Falls highway to a culvert, 1.5km north-east to the tip of Mampamba Mountain, 4.61km north-west along the mountain range to trigonometrical station 507/S, then south-west to the Mpongola–Lukosi confluence and 1.5km back along the Mpongola to the bridge.
The notice gives coordinates for every turning point but says nothing about what the land will be used for, what happens to people currently occupying it, or whether compensation or resettlement follows. Households inside either boundary should establish their position with Hwange Rural District Council and the Ministry of Lands.
What changed
- The Sizinda–Chisuma corridor along the Zambezi gorges ceases to be Hwange communal land
- The Kalisine block between the Mpongola river and the Bulawayo–Victoria Falls highway ceases to be Hwange communal land
- Both boundaries are fixed by listed coordinates and physical features rather than by a diagram
- The notice states no future use, occupier protection, compensation or resettlement arrangement
Who this affects
- households occupying or farming land inside the two excised areas
- Hwange Rural District Council
- villagers between Sizinda and Chisuma along the Zambezi
- landholders near Kalisine and the Mpongola river
- developers and investors seeking land near Victoria Falls
Plain-language summary — not legal advice. Always read the full instrument.