A bitter ownership conflict between former business partners and couple Janet Dapi and Watson Mirio Magwenzi is placing the education of more than 300 learners at Elizzy and Dyllan Primary and Secondary Schools in Hwedza at serious risk, NewsDay has established.
The dispute, which intertwines legal, social, and ethical dimensions, has escalated well beyond a private property disagreement. Parents, teachers, and the wider community have voiced deep concerns over the future of the schools, prompting a formal petition to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education calling for urgent intervention. Stakeholders are demanding that educational services resume and that the premises be returned to Dapi’s management pending the resolution of the dispute.
Founded in 2022 by Dapi and Magwenzi in Chitungwiza, the institution later relocated to Hwedza, where significant infrastructural developments were undertaken, including classroom construction and borehole drilling. These developments were reportedly financed and administered primarily under Dapi’s leadership, reflecting her hands-on role in building the school into a reputable learning institution.
Recently, the matter reached Marondera Magistrate Court, where Magistrate Tamara Chibindi granted an interdict pending the outcome of an eviction suit at the High Court. The ruling stated:
“The first and second respondents (Dapi and Elizzy and Dyllan Primary and Secondary Schools) and all those acting through them or on their instructions are hereby interdicted from carrying any business at stand number 36 Bita Farm, Hwedza, pending the finalisation of HCH 1862/25.”
“The first and second respondents and all those acting through them or on their instructions are further interdicted from interfering with the applicant’s operations at stand number 36 Bita Farm, Hwedza, until the matter under HCH 1862/25 is finalised.”
Ownership Dispute Between Former Partners Threatens Education of Over 300 Hwedza Learners
According to sources, Magwenzi allegedly leveraged political and familial connections, including those of Headman Munzverengi—reportedly his cousin—to acquire state leasehold rights over the school land, despite Dapi’s prior legal and financial commitments to its development. Among those directly affected by the dispute is the couple’s own child, a 13-year-old learner, highlighting the deeply personal consequences of the conflict.
The school had earned a strong reputation in Hwedza for academic and extracurricular excellence. It previously achieved one of the highest Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council Ordinary Level pass rates in the district and was recently crowned zonal champions for athletics. Stakeholders argue that the ongoing dispute threatens not just property rights but the continuity of education for hundreds of children.
In their petition to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, stakeholders described the conflict as “a direct assault on children’s access to education and their right to a stable academic environment.” The petition called for government intervention to restore educational access, investigate the legality of the land reallocation, and ensure compliance with regulatory and statutory requirements. It also raised allegations of systemic gender discrimination, claiming that Dapi, as a female entrepreneur, had been deliberately sidelined in the process.
In an interview with NewsDay, Dapi accused Headman Munzverengi of receiving bribes from Magwenzi to influence the allocation of the lease. She claimed that in October 2023, the headman demanded a house in Harare as a condition for supporting Magwenzi’s application and told her that, as a woman, she would not succeed against them. Dapi further alleged attempts to coerce a former local councillor, Mr. Manjeya, to alter official minutes to include Magwenzi as the investor—an effort Manjeya refused, citing legal implications.
The situation escalated during the school’s speech and prize-giving day on November 30, 2024, when Dapi alleges that Magwenzi and the headman collaborated with Chief Svosve to reallocate the land to Magwenzi’s father, who would subsequently hand it over to his son under customary justification. In December 2023 and January 2024, Dapi and her staff were summoned to the traditional court accused of removing pegs on the land, resulting in orders to vacate the premises and pay fines, which Dapi contested as unjust and discriminatory. She reported that the traditional court later reversed some orders against her, further underscoring the inconsistency of the legal process.
The High Court is now set to hear the case on September 11 this year. The outcome is expected to have far-reaching implications not only for Dapi and Magwenzi but for the over 300 learners, their families, and the Hwedza community at large. Parents, teachers, and stakeholders remain hopeful that the judiciary and government authorities will act decisively to restore stability and protect the rights of children to uninterrupted education.
As the dispute continues, the situation raises broader questions about governance, gender equity, and the protection of educational institutions from politicised land and property conflicts. For now, the learners’ education hangs in the balance, with the community anxiously awaiting a resolution that will safeguard both the schools and the futures of those enrolled.
Source- Newsday
