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Is there 50/50 property sharing upon divorce in Zimbabwe?

Section 7 of the Matrimonial Causes Act [Chapter 5:13] allows the High Court of Zimbabwe in granting a divorce to make an order dividing the assets of the spouses including making an order that any assets be transferred from one spouse to the other.

The duty of the court in the division, apportionment or distribution of the assets of the spouses involves the exercise of discretion on part of the court. The court does not simply lump together all assets and property on the parties and hand them out.

The courts in Zimbabwe use a combination of factors when called upon to deal with property sharing upon divorce in Zimbabwe to ensure that there is fair and just distribution of property. There has been a commendable and discernible trend in Zimbabwe of treating spouses as equal in the sense of each receiving a 50/50 share particularly when dealing with parties who have been married for a long time. see Mhora v Mhora 2020 (1) ZLR 1428 (S).

The Harare High Court of Chihota v Chihota HH 148-24 held that:

“It is also a fact that although our Constitution in its national objectives leans towards quality of rights and obligations and requires the state to take measures to protect children and spouses in the event of dissolution of marriage, the Matrimonial Causes Act has not been amended to state categorically that property sharing is fifty-fifty on dissolution of a marriage.”

Resultantly, in Zimbabwe the sharing of movable and immovable property upon divorce is not 50/50.