Supreme Court Cancels Chewore Lodge Lease, Businessman Faces Eviction And Loses Millions

Businessman Terry William Kelly, 73, has lost Chewore Lodge after Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court cancelled his 25-year lease, despite millions of dollars invested in the property.

According to Crime Watch, Chewore Lodge, a popular safari destination, was run by Kelly for 15 years through his company, Suscaden Investments, under two leases and a settlement agreement issued by Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), which accepted rent and treated the lease as valid.

The courts later ruled the lease invalid because it lacked clear approval from the responsible minister.

Although the document carried Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri’s signature and a former ZimParks official confirmed it passed through official channels, the minister denied signing it. With no proof of her signature, the courts ruled against Kelly.

The decision ignored that the government had allowed Kelly to operate for years and benefited from his payments.

He now faces eviction without compensation, losing millions spent on the high-end tourism project in the Zambezi Valley.

Journalist Hopewell Chin’ono described the case as a warning to investors, saying it shows why property rights in Zimbabwe are unreliable and why serious local and foreign investment is risky. Wrote Chin’ono on X:

“This is why real investors are not coming to Zimbabwe: the courts are ridiculously captured, and there is no fairness or rule of law.

“I can bet my bottom dollar that someone in ZANUPF wants this property, and once they get it, they will run it down as they always do.

“An investor invests huge amounts of money, builds a business from the ground up, creates jobs, and then they just come and take it. What a joke.

“This is daylight robbery dressed up as law, and it is exactly why serious capital will not touch this country.”

Meanwhile, Kelly’s daughter, Terry William, said the family plans to take the matter to the Constitutional Court after losing their appeal at the Supreme Court.

In a statement shared on the Chewore Lodge and Campsite Facebook page, William confirmed that they will challenge the ruling at the Constitutional Court. She wrote:

“I think back on all we have gone through, particularly my dad, Terry. It’s been 15 years since he first started Chewore Lodge and Campsite in a JV with National Parks.

“Sometimes it’s like a bad dream that I keep trying to wake up from.

“My dad has done nothing but lawfully rent land, build a camp that our clients who have become friends love, and create an escape in the bush, with an incredible team of guys, for his children and grandchildren to adventure and explore Mother Africa.

“He taught us all to ‘always put back in the pot’, to always contribute and look after others where we can.

“We have been illegally shut down, threatened to be evicted, had armed rangers deployed at camp, told to move (many times), he’s been ABDUCTED, had false charges put against him, sent to remand, had his passport taken off him, missed seeing his sister for the last time before she passed away (we got his passport back the day she died), and now our appeal has been dismissed.”