City Of Harare Appeals High Court Order To Fix Mbare Hostels

The City of Harare has filed an appeal to overturn a High Court ruling (HCH4825/24) that compels it to rehabilitate the Mbare Flats and provide residents with essential water, sanitation, and hygiene services.

The judgment followed a legal challenge by the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA), which sued the city council for failing to uphold residents’ constitutional right to safe and adequate housing.

In its ruling, the court ordered the local authority to take urgent steps to restore dignity and safeguard public health by upgrading the dilapidated Mbare hostels—long plagued by broken sewer systems, persistent water shortages, and dangerously poor living conditions.

Rather than complying with the court’s directive, however, the City of Harare has chosen to contest the decision, drawing criticism from housing rights advocates and public health experts.

CHRA has warned that the city’s attempt to reverse the ruling risks exacerbating the already dire housing and sanitation crisis affecting thousands of Mbare residents, many of whom live in overcrowded and unsafe conditions.

The City of Harare’s court application for rescission of the judgment is set to be heard by the High Court of Zimbabwe in Harare before Justice Rodgers Foroma Manyangadze on Friday, 18 July 2025, at 9:00 AM.

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