RESIDENTS in Chitungwiza have taken legal action by suing their local authority over the perennial sewage crisis and demanding implementation of a comprehensive plan to end the raw sewage pollution.
The Chitungwiza Residents Trust (CHITREST) and some dwellers namely Langton Nyakudya, Michael Kuvheya, Fred Farai Nyakudanga, Innocent Gondora, Phillipa Kawamba, Muchaneta Chimuka, Angela Chefu and Ruramai Chipengo on 23 July 2026 filed an application at Harare High Court seeking an order to compel Chitungwiza Municipality to halt the ongoing sewage crisis that has plagued the community for several decades.
CHITREST and the Chitungwiza residents, who are represented by Kelvin Kabaya and Tinashe Chinopfukutwa of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, narrated that sewage flows directly into their houses while the putrid and bad odour from raw sewage has been causing serious discomfort to them and thereby endangering them and exposing them to some water-borne diseases.
According to the residents, domestic boreholes have become contaminated with raw sewage which flows freely into their houses while entrance and exit points at some schools have been closed due to raw sewage which flows in their vicinity.
The existing sewerage infrastructure, the residents argued, is currently being overwhelmed by wastewater as it was not designed or maintained to accommodate the substantial residential and commercial development that has occurred within the municipality without a commensurate upgrade to the existing sewerage infrastructure.
CHITREST and the residents protested that it was disconcerting that notwithstanding the perennial existence of the dangerous situation, the local authority had not taken adequate measures to repair and refurbish the sewerage system with the 25 wards in Chitungwiza.
They argued that the repeated failure by Chitungwiza Municipality to address the long standing problem of poor sewage infrastructure, sewage treatment, burst sewer pipes and disposal, amounts to a violation of the right to live in an environment which is not harmful to health or well-being and offends against various constitutional rights and laws and violates the residents’ right to a safe and healthy environment guaranteed in Section 73 of the Constitution, the right to human dignity provided in section 51 of the Constitution and the right to life guaranteed in Section 48 of the Constitution including several domestic laws such as the Urban Councils Act, the Environmental Management Act and the Public Health Act among other laws.
The residents contends that according to the provisions of Section 168 of the Urban Councils Act, Chitungwiza Municipality has a legal obligation to take the necessary measures for the collection, conveyance, treatment and disposal of sewage.
The residents want the High Court to order Chitungwiza Municipality to upgrade and repair the sewer system within its jurisdiction to ensure proper discharge and treatment of effluent within three months of the granting of the court order and for the local authority to prepare and publish an emergency plan to effect short, medium and long-term sewage infrastructure repairs, maintenance and upgrades within one month of the granting of the court order.
CHITREST and the residents also want the High Court to declare that Chitungwiza Municipality’s failure to put in place adequate measures for the collection, conveyance, treatment and disposal of raw sewage in Chitungwiza to be in breach of Section 48 of the Constitution, Section 51 of the Constitution and Section 73(1) of the Constitution and also Section 168 of the Urban Councils Act, Section 4 of the Environmental Management Agency Act, Section 32(1) of the Public Health Act and section 103(1) of the Public Health Act.
EMA, the residents said, should monitor Chitungwiza Municipality’s compliance with preparing and publishing the local authority’s emergency plan to effect short, medium and long-term sewage infrastructure repairs, maintenance and upgrades.
The matter is yet to be set down for a hearing at the High Court.
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