OVER 22 families spent the night out in the cold, having
been evicted from a subdivision of Glenara Estates along the old Mazowe Road on
Thursday, following a High Court order.
The farm was allocated to Mavis Rondozai in 2001 at the
height of Zimbabwe’s bloody farm invasions.
Rondozai was reportedly allocated the land illegally,
triggering a protracted court battle as farm owner Kelvin James won the right
to return to his farm 17 years later.
The farm, which was now being run by Rondozai’s children
following her death in 2006, had become home to nearly 100 people who were also
forced out of the land. They had their homes
destroyed under the watch of the Deputy Sheriff.
Tambudzai Chikukutu, who was evicted from the farm said
they had left their cattle, farm, produce and 17 years of a livelihood
following the eviction.
“We had paid fees for our children for the term that opens
next week, bought uniforms; we are even yet to harvest our crops, but following
this cruel move we are left without hope and
disturbed,” she said.
Another victim, Abigail Mujere, said reports were that
their offer letters had been dismissed as fraudulent.
“They argue that the summons in the matter where the former
farm owner was filling for eviction were served at the wrong address. They
further argued that our offer letters were
fake, but we know they are not fake. Something fishy is
going on,” she said.
Mujere said the farm was handed over to her in-laws by
Transport deputy minister Fortune Chasi.
“We were given the keys to the house by our MP Chasi in
2001. We have since approached him so that he deals with this matter. He has
promised to help us,” she said.
A number of illegal farm invaders have, of late, been
evicted from the various farms they grabbed in 2000.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has, however, said the land
reform will not be reversed, but the latest evictions are raising anxiety among
the new farmers. Newsday
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