This is God’s land: Moral economies, spirituality, and insurgent land seizures in Zimbabwe’s urban peripheries
Abstract In the contested urban peripheries of African cities, land is not merely a resource to be owned, it is a moral claim, a spiritual inheritance, and a battleground for survival. As urban expansion collides with histories of displacement and exclusion, marginalized migrants forge insurgent pat...
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Springer
2025-06-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s44282-025-00187-4 |
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| author | Johannes Bhanye Abraham Matamanda Ruvimbo Shayamunda |
| author_facet | Johannes Bhanye Abraham Matamanda Ruvimbo Shayamunda |
| author_sort | Johannes Bhanye |
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| description | Abstract In the contested urban peripheries of African cities, land is not merely a resource to be owned, it is a moral claim, a spiritual inheritance, and a battleground for survival. As urban expansion collides with histories of displacement and exclusion, marginalized migrants forge insurgent pathways to belonging that defy formal legal frameworks. In some cases, this is because urban and peri-urban farming have become essential survival strategies in Africa’s rapidly expanding cities. However, access to land for urban and peri-urban farming remains a significant hurdle, especially, for marginalized migrants. This paper explores how Malawian migrants at Lydiate informal settlement in peri-urban Zimbabwe mobilize insurgent practices—land seizures, spiritual claims, and communal strategies to access land for farming. Anchored in the insurgent citizenship framework, the study draws on eighteen months of intensive ethnographic fieldwork (2018–2020), including in-depth interviews with 50 migrants across generational cohorts, key informant interviews with local leaders, and extensive participant observation of everyday land negotiations and spiritual performances. The findings reveal that marginalized migrants construct alternative land governance systems based on informal seizures, communal endorsement, and moral-spiritual claims to space. Notably, migrants invoke divine ownership narratives "this is God’s land", deploy Nyau cult practices, and use witchcraft deterrence as tactical tools for defending seized land. These practices extend insurgent citizenship beyond political-legal rights to encompass moral, communal, and mystical terrains of urban belonging. Policy recommendations advocate for the recognition of informal access systems, the integration of adverse possession frameworks, and participatory planning models sensitive to spirituality and migrant livelihoods. Foregrounding the material, moral, and mystical dimensions of urban struggle, the study calls for a decolonized, pluralistic understanding of African urbanization, one attentive to the layered, lived realities shaping land, citizenship, and survival at the city’s contested edge. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-131f0df240bf4e99a601e64303c4a140 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2731-9687 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Discover Global Society |
| spelling | doaj-art-131f0df240bf4e99a601e64303c4a1402025-08-20T03:10:27ZengSpringerDiscover Global Society2731-96872025-06-013112210.1007/s44282-025-00187-4This is God’s land: Moral economies, spirituality, and insurgent land seizures in Zimbabwe’s urban peripheriesJohannes Bhanye0Abraham Matamanda1Ruvimbo Shayamunda2African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI), Geological Sciences Building, University of Cape TownDepartment of Urban and Regional Planning. Bloemfontein, University of the Free StateDepartment of Urban and Regional Planning. Bloemfontein, University of the Free StateAbstract In the contested urban peripheries of African cities, land is not merely a resource to be owned, it is a moral claim, a spiritual inheritance, and a battleground for survival. As urban expansion collides with histories of displacement and exclusion, marginalized migrants forge insurgent pathways to belonging that defy formal legal frameworks. In some cases, this is because urban and peri-urban farming have become essential survival strategies in Africa’s rapidly expanding cities. However, access to land for urban and peri-urban farming remains a significant hurdle, especially, for marginalized migrants. This paper explores how Malawian migrants at Lydiate informal settlement in peri-urban Zimbabwe mobilize insurgent practices—land seizures, spiritual claims, and communal strategies to access land for farming. Anchored in the insurgent citizenship framework, the study draws on eighteen months of intensive ethnographic fieldwork (2018–2020), including in-depth interviews with 50 migrants across generational cohorts, key informant interviews with local leaders, and extensive participant observation of everyday land negotiations and spiritual performances. The findings reveal that marginalized migrants construct alternative land governance systems based on informal seizures, communal endorsement, and moral-spiritual claims to space. Notably, migrants invoke divine ownership narratives "this is God’s land", deploy Nyau cult practices, and use witchcraft deterrence as tactical tools for defending seized land. These practices extend insurgent citizenship beyond political-legal rights to encompass moral, communal, and mystical terrains of urban belonging. Policy recommendations advocate for the recognition of informal access systems, the integration of adverse possession frameworks, and participatory planning models sensitive to spirituality and migrant livelihoods. Foregrounding the material, moral, and mystical dimensions of urban struggle, the study calls for a decolonized, pluralistic understanding of African urbanization, one attentive to the layered, lived realities shaping land, citizenship, and survival at the city’s contested edge.https://doi.org/10.1007/s44282-025-00187-4Urban informalityInsurgent citizenshipLand accessPeri-urban farmingMigrantsUrban governance |
| spellingShingle | Johannes Bhanye Abraham Matamanda Ruvimbo Shayamunda This is God’s land: Moral economies, spirituality, and insurgent land seizures in Zimbabwe’s urban peripheries Discover Global Society Urban informality Insurgent citizenship Land access Peri-urban farming Migrants Urban governance |
| title | This is God’s land: Moral economies, spirituality, and insurgent land seizures in Zimbabwe’s urban peripheries |
| title_full | This is God’s land: Moral economies, spirituality, and insurgent land seizures in Zimbabwe’s urban peripheries |
| title_fullStr | This is God’s land: Moral economies, spirituality, and insurgent land seizures in Zimbabwe’s urban peripheries |
| title_full_unstemmed | This is God’s land: Moral economies, spirituality, and insurgent land seizures in Zimbabwe’s urban peripheries |
| title_short | This is God’s land: Moral economies, spirituality, and insurgent land seizures in Zimbabwe’s urban peripheries |
| title_sort | this is god s land moral economies spirituality and insurgent land seizures in zimbabwe s urban peripheries |
| topic | Urban informality Insurgent citizenship Land access Peri-urban farming Migrants Urban governance |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/s44282-025-00187-4 |
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