Structures and networks of accessing and securing land among peri-urban squatters: the case of Malawian migrants at Lydiate informal settlement in Zimbabwe

ABSTRACT

The scholarly discourse on migrants and land access in peri-urban spaces is advancing theoretically and empirically. This paper contributes to this important discourse by examining the structures and networks used by migrants of international descent in accessing and securing the much coveted land in peri-urban spaces of destination countries. The study is qualitative, based on an ethnographic inquiry among Malawian migrants in Lydiate, an informal peri-urban squatter settlement in Zimbabwe’s Norton town. The finding of the paper is that migrants resort to alternative institutions including kinship, political networks and investors in accessing and securing land in peri-urban spaces. Migrants also establish themselves through the occult, a religious and ritual-based form of authority that is associated with deathly symbols. Because it is feared by adherence and indigenes alike, the occult is able to yield and guarantee land to migrants seeking it in its name. Migrant squatter settlements, therefore, emerge as dynamic spaces with novel forms of authority that regulate access to resources. Beneath the semblance of chaos that characterizes squatter settlements, there is another different ‘world’; ordered and shared by those who constitute it. The paper further argues that, the reason why migrants turn to alternative forms of authority in accessing and securing land is not because they prefer it; very often, there are no formal institutions that they can turn to. What this means for academia and policy makers is that, there is a broad scope of players that need to be engaged in the planning and governance of peri-urban spaces in the age of transnational mobility. These players include political patrons, investors, and other primordial forms of authority which include kinship and the feared occult. These players not only need to be understood but also require to be engaged in the ongoing construction and governance of peri-urban spaces.

KEYWORDS:

• Structures
• networks
• land access
• peri-urban
• Malawian migrants
• Lydiate

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge that some of the information in the paper, abstract, summary and conclusion appears in the abstract by the corresponding author; Johannes Bhanye (June 2020), published by the University of Milan for the Twentieth International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities and Nations.

Disclaimer

Liability for commissions, omissions and/or views expressed in this paper remains entirely the responsibility of the authors.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Demographic figures from the community register kept by community leaders, at Lydiate Farm, 2018.

2. Interview with the community leader Lyson Rafamoyo at Lydiate Farm, 15 June 2018.

3. Interview with Mr. Chizemo at Lydiate Farm, 4 June 2018.

4. Interview with Dennis and Luckson Chizemo at Lydiate Farm, 4 June 2018.

5. Interview with Charles Mabhena at Lydiate Farm, 21 January 2019.

6. Interview with Robert Mwale at Lydiate Farm, 18 January 2019.

7. Interview with Rairo Tembo at Lydiate Farm, 15 June 2018.

8. Interview with Magret Petro at Lydiate Farm, 19 June 2018.

9. Interview with Mrs. Macheka at Lydiate Farm, 15 June 2018.

10. Interview with Conoria Ruwizhi at Lydiate Farm, 2 June 2018.

11. Interview with Theresa Ngirazi at Lydiate Farm, 22 January 2019.

12. Interview with Tinotenda Matare at Lydiate Farm, 11 August 2018.

13. Interview with Magret Kambala at Lydiate Farm, 18 December 2018.

14. Interview with Mr. Taru at Lydiate Farm, 25 January 2019.

15. Interview with Naison Machinda at Lydiate Farm, 26 July 2018.

16. Interview with Mollen Jaji at Lydiate Farm, 16 June 2018.

17. Interview with Mrs. Madhara at Lydiate Farm, 17 December 2018.

18. Interview with Mr. Jonasi Goba at Lydiate Farm, 22 July 2018.

19. Interview with Sandra Shumba at Lydiate Farm, 16 December 2018.

20. Interview with Tapiwa Chirinda at Lydiate Farm, 21 June 2018.

21. Interview with Mrs. Njenje at Lydiate Farm, 2 July 2018.

22. Interview with Mrs. Choto at Lydiate Farm, 3 July 2018.

23. Interview with Mr. Matambo at Lydiate Farm, 30 June 2018.

24. Interview with Lyson Rafamoyo at Lydiate Farm, 29 June 2018.

25. Interview with Mr. Matambo at Lydiate Farm, 30 June 2018.

26. Interview with Mr Matambo at Lydiate Farm, 20 July 2018.

27. Interview with Mrs. Zvinyenye at Lydiate Farm 21 January 2019.

28. Interview with Mr. Pote at Lydiate Farm, 24 July 2018.

29. Interview with Mrs. Jasi at Lydiate Farm, 21 July 2018.

30. Interview with Mr. Gaza at Lydiate Farm, 15 January 2019.

31. Interview with Disi Jairosi at Lydiate Farm, 5 June 2018.

32. Interview with Dhairesi Snake at Lydiate Farm, 5 June 2018.

33. Interview with Edmore Zuze at Lydiate Farm, 5 June 2018.

34. Interview with Tawanda Mamvura at Lydiate Farm, 6 April 2019.

35. Interview with Dominic Njanji at Lydiate Farm, 4 April 2019.

36. Interview with Mr. Shumba at Lydiate Farm, 23 June 2018.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Collaborative Ph.D. Program on ‘Mobility and Sociality in Africa’s Emerging Urban.’

Notes on contributors

Johannes Bhanye

Johannes Bhanye is a Ph.D. Student with the University of Zimbabwe, Centre for Applied Social Sciences under the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Collaborative Ph.D. programme on ‘Mobility and Sociality in Africa’s Emerging Urban.’ He also holds a B.Sc. (Honors) in Rural and Urban Planning and M.Sc. in Social Ecology both from the University of Zimbabwe.

Vupenyu Dzingirai

Vupenyu Dzingirai is a Professor of Social Anthropology with the University of Zimbabwe, Centre for Applied Social Sciences. He is the coordinator for the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Collaborative Ph.D. programme on ‘Mobility and Sociality in Africa’s Emerging Urban’ in Zimbabwe.