BY SAMUEL NJINGA
For nearly 14 years, residents of Victoria Ranch and Runyararo West in Masvingo have lived with an unwanted neighbour — a dumpsite that they say has turned their homes into an environment of smoke, foul odours, flies and persistent fears over their health.
What began as a dispute over proximity to a waste disposal site in 2012 has evolved into a prolonged environmental and human rights battle involving residents, civil society organisations, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC), the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and the City of Masvingo.
At the centre of the dispute is the Runyararo West dumpsite, which has served as the city’s waste disposal facility for decades. Residents say the problem becomes particularly severe when waste is burnt, sending thick smoke into surrounding communities.
For families living closest to the site, the consequences are not abstract. They say they have had to close windows to keep out the smoke, endure persistent odours and worry about the effects of prolonged exposure on children, elderly people and those with respiratory conditions.
“We have lived with this problem for years. When the rubbish is burning, the smoke comes into our homes and sometimes we cannot even sit outside,” said one resident.
Another resident said the dumpsite had become a source of anxiety for parents.
“We worry about our children because they play around the area. There are flies, smoke and waste everywhere. We have complained for years, but the problem has continued,” the resident said.
The history of the dumpsite predates the occupation of Victoria Ranch. Research on the Masvingo dumpsite indicates that it began operating in 1996 and had already reached the end of its expected lifespan by the mid-2000s. By 2012, when residential development around Victoria Ranch intensified, the waste-disposal facility was effectively operating alongside an expanding community. That created a conflict that has persisted for more than a decade.
Academic research on the site has documented complaints from surrounding communities involving bad odours, flies, rodents and other environmental problems. Researchers have also raised concerns about the potential contamination of nearby water systems.
A stream close to the dumpsite feeds into the Mucheke River system, which eventually connects with the Shagashe River and the wider Mutirikwi catchment. This means that the environmental implications of poorly managed waste potentially extend beyond the immediate neighbourhood. However, scientific evidence must be distinguished from residents’ perceptions.
While studies have documented environmental and health concerns associated with the area, establishing that a particular illness suffered by an individual was caused directly by the dumpsite requires medical and epidemiological evidence. That distinction has not diminished residents’ concerns.
Over the years, residents increasingly turned to organised advocacy. The Masvingo United Residents and Ratepayers Association (MURRA) became one of the organisations pushing for action. Residents held demonstrations and engaged authorities, demanding that the dumpsite be closed and waste disposal moved away from residential areas.
The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission also became involved following complaints over the environmental conditions. The issue subsequently attracted the attention of other civil society organisations, including the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe.
For residents, however, years of meetings and representations produced little lasting change. The dispute eventually moved from community mobilisation to the courts.
In January 2025, MURRA and resident Kudakwashe Mago approached the High Court over the continued operation of the dumpsite. The applicants argued that continued dumping was inconsistent with residents’ constitutional environmental rights.
On June 24, 2025, High Court Judge Justice Sunsley Zisengwe ordered the City of Masvingo to stop using the Runyararo West site for waste disposal and directed the local authority to move its operations to the Cambria Farm landfill.
The Environmental Management Agency was also directed to enforce the order. The ruling gave the municipality until December 31, 2025 to complete the migration.
The judgment represented a significant development in a dispute that had previously been fought largely through petitions, protests and engagements with local authorities. But it also exposed a question that had been hanging over Masvingo’s waste-management system for years:
Why had a replacement facility taken so long to become fully operational?
THE CAMBRIA QUESTION
The City of Masvingo has for years been developing the Cambria Farm landfill as an alternative to the old dumpsite. Council has previously reported substantial progress on the project, including claims that the first landfill cell was 98 percent physically complete. Yet the continued controversy surrounding the old dumpsite demonstrates that building infrastructure is only part of the solution.
A functioning landfill also requires appropriate equipment, financing, environmental controls, transport systems and effective enforcement.
The transition from open dumping to controlled waste management therefore remains a test of the municipality’s capacity to turn plans into practical results.
For residents of Victoria Ranch and Runyararo West, the issue is more immediate. They want to know whether the court ruling has translated into a tangible improvement in the environment surrounding their homes.
THE HEALTH QUESTION
The health dimension of the dispute is perhaps its most serious component. Open dumping and uncontrolled burning can expose communities to smoke, particulate matter, biological contaminants and other hazards.
Children, elderly people and individuals with existing respiratory vulnerabilities may be particularly susceptible to air pollution.
Studies of the Masvingo dumpsite and people working at or around it have reported health complaints including respiratory problems, eye infections and gastrointestinal illnesses. But researchers and health professionals caution against automatically attributing every illness in surrounding communities to the dumpsite. A proper determination of disease causation would require systematic epidemiological and medical investigations.
For residents, however, the daily experience remains compelling:
They see smoke rising from waste.
They smell the odour.
They see flies and rodents.
And they live with the knowledge that the waste-disposal facility is close to their homes.
THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE A LIVING FROM WASTE
Another group caught in the dispute are waste pickers. For some people, the dumpsite is not merely a place of environmental exposure; it is a source of income. They search through discarded material for plastics, metals and other items that can be sold or reused.
But the practice can expose them to sharp objects, smoke, contaminated materials and other hazards. This presents authorities with a difficult policy challenge. Closing an unsafe dumpsite may reduce environmental exposure, but waste pickers who depend on the site for their livelihoods also need alternative economic opportunities and inclusion in formal waste-management systems. A sustainable solution must therefore address both environmental protection and the livelihoods of vulnerable people.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?
The Runyararo West dispute has raised broader questions about the responsibilities of local authorities in managing urban waste. Residents have a legitimate interest in knowing how their waste is collected, transported, treated and disposed of.
The municipality, on the other hand, has to provide waste-management services while dealing with financial, infrastructural and operational constraints.
EMA has regulatory responsibilities, while national institutions have a role in enforcing environmental and public-health standards. The residents’ legal victory therefore does not end the story.
It shifts the focus from whether the old dumpsite should be used to how the city will permanently manage its waste without exposing communities to environmental hazards.
Standing beside the dumpsite today, the central contradiction is difficult to miss.
A residential community has grown around a facility that residents have complained about for years. The complaints became protests. The protests became investigations. The investigations became a legal battle.
And the legal battle produced a court order. But the ultimate measure of success will not be another meeting, petition or court document. It will be whether residents can live in their homes without choking smoke, persistent odours and fear of environmental contamination.
For the people of Victoria Ranch and Runyararo West, the question is no longer simply when the dumpsite will close. After 14 years of complaints, it is whether authorities can finally deliver what residents have been demanding all along: a safe place to live.