The High Court has ordered President Emmerson Mnangagwa to make public a long-awaited report into the controversial sale of state land in a ruling seen as a major test of government transparency.
The report, compiled more than six years ago examined allegations of widespread illegal land sales by so-called "land barons" and the rapid growth of unregulated settlements in urban areas.
The case was brought by former Member of Parliament Allan Norman Markham who argued that the government's failure to release the findings breached citizens' constitutional right to access information.
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In its judgment, the High Court ruled that withholding the report violated Section 62 of Zimbabwe's Constitution which guarantees public access to information held by the state.
Accoring to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) Justice Maxwell Takuva in his ruling said the continued secrecy conveys opacity rather than transparency, secrecy rather than accountability and silence rather than responsiveness.
The court has given the president 90 days to publish the findings.
According to court papers, the inquiry uncovered alleged large-scale corruption in the allocation and sale of state land with financial losses to the state estimated at nearly $3bn.
Markham argued that keeping the report secret had prevented citizens from understanding "the extent of corruption, maladministration and loss of public resources".
He had spent years seeking its release through parliamentary questions and formal appeals to authorities, without success.
Lawyers representing the president and the Attorney General opposed the application, warning that releasing the report in full could infringe on the rights of others.
But the court rejected that argument, ruling that access to such information is not optional but a binding constitutional obligation.
The inquiry itself, led by Tendai Uchena, was set up following a surge in illegal settlements across Zimbabwe's cities.
Many of these developments lacked basic infrastructure such as water, sewage systems, roads and electricity. Thousands of homebuyers were reportedly defrauded through double sales or saw their homes demolished after being built on illegally acquired land.
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights which represented Markham said the ruling reinforced constitutional accountability.
"The judgment affirms that the right to access information is a cornerstone of transparency and good governance," the organisation said, adding that public access to the report would help expose wrongdoing and restore confidence in land administration.
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The commission's findings had been widely anticipated, with many Zimbabweans hoping they would bring order to the country's chaotic land sector.
