Judgment No. SC 18/18 Civil Appeal No. 137/16 vindicatio operates against a third party who innocently purchases the property even where improvements or developments were made. The owner remains entitled to his property. This was made clear in the case of Alspite Investments (Pvt) Ltd v Westerhoff 2009 (2) ZLR 236 where MAKARAU JP, as she then was, said: “There are no equities in the application of the rei vindicatio. Thus in applying the principle, the court may not accept and grant pleas of mercy or for extension of possession of the property by the defendant against an owner for the convenience or comfort of the possessor once it is accepted that the plaintiff is the owner of the property and does not consent to the defendant holding it. It is a rule or principle of law that admits no discretion on the part of the court. It is a legal principle heavily weighted in favour of property owners against the world at large and is used to ruthlessly protect ownership. The application of the principle conjures up in my mind the most uncomfortable image of a stern mother standing over two children fighting over a lollipop. If the child holding and licking the lollipop is not the rightful owner of the prized possession and the rightful owner cries to the mother for intervention, the mother must pluck the lollipop from the holder and restore it forthwith to the other child notwithstanding the age and size of the owner-child or the number of lollipops that the owner child may be clutching at the time. It matters not that the possessor child may not have had a lollipop in a long time or is unlikely to have one in the foreseeable future. If the lollipop is not his or hers, he or she cannot have it.” [My emphasis] This case therefore sanctions ruthless vindication of the owners’ rights. Ownership is a well-guarded title in property law. For this reason, after finding the second, third and fourth appellants to be the true owners, the court a quo was bound by law to vindicate their title to the land. One of the critical maxims of property law is nemo plus iuris transfer e protest quam ips habet – translated as meaning that an owner cannot, as a general rule, be deprived of his property against his will. Therefore, where an owner’s property is sold and delivered without his consent his right to ownership can be vindicated from any person. Silberberg and Schoeman in their Second Edition of “The Law of Property” at page 268 make it clear that the maxim stands firm even where the third party acquires the property in good faith, having paid a fair market value and acted in all innocence. Our law calls for ruthless vindication and protection of the right of ownership. Counsel 18