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Declaration of National Monument The Germany Church Monument

The German church building and the Samutumbu site at Gutu Mission, Masvingo — about 2,95 hectares — are declared a National Monument, bringing the land under heritage protection.

The Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage has declared the German church building and the Samutumbu site at Gutu Mission a National Monument. The site sits on Gutu Mission Farm in Gutu District, Masvingo Province, on map sheet 1931 C1 of the Surveyor-General's 1:50 000 series.

The protected area is 2,9542 hectares, fixed by a surveyed polygon running through twelve points from grid reference UP1247 2776 and back to the start. Anyone needing the exact boundary — a neighbouring landholder, a surveyor, or the mission itself — should work from the beacon descriptions in the gazette rather than from any map sketch.

Declaration brings the site under the National Museums and Monuments Act, so alteration, excavation, building or removal of material at the site becomes a matter for National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe. The notice does not restate those controls and sets no fees, penalties or commencement date.

A caution on the boundary description: the written distances and the bracketed figures disagree in several places — "seventy-six comma three nine metres (66,39m)", "fifty-three comma five six metres (43,56m)" and "fifty-five comma three five metres (45,35m)". The polygon is also introduced as figure N,P,Q…N but described as starting at point A. These look like errors in the printed instrument, and the boundary should be confirmed against the deposited survey diagram before anyone relies on it.

What changed

  • The German church building and Samutumbu site at Gutu Mission, Masvingo Province, are declared a National Monument
  • The declared area is 2,9542 hectares, bounded by a surveyed polygon of twelve points on map sheet 1931 C1

Who this affects

  • Gutu Mission and the church running it
  • landholders adjoining Gutu Mission Farm
  • National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe
  • Gutu Rural District Council
  • surveyors and developers working in the area

Plain-language summary — not legal advice. Always read the full instrument.