THE country’s war veterans have, in a rare show of
solidarity, ganged up with opposition parties in a fresh campaign to strip
former President Robert Mugabe of his multiple farms for redistribution to
millions of deserving Zimbabweans.
Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans’ Association
spokesperson Douglas Mahiya confirmed the development yesterday, with the
opposition MDC-T and little-known Zimbabwe Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF)
saying they stood ready to join the campaign to dispossess Mugabe of his
reported 20 farms and leave him with one in line with government’s
one-man-one-farm policy.
“We fought Mugabe because of his corruption and have
demanded for a long time that the policy of one-man-one farm should be
implemented without exception. We are not in this supporting or personalising
issues against Mugabe, but this has been our clarion call that Mugabe’s
corruption was stinking across Zimbabwe, beginning with the multiple farms that
he owns,” Mahiya said.
Mugabe has literally been under siege from the governing
Zanu PF party apparatchiks since losing power last November, amid reports his
Mazowe properties, where former First Lady Grace Mugabe runs an orphanage,
citrus plantation and dairy project, had been invaded by gold panners.
MDC-T secretary general Douglas Mwonzora said their
campaign was not only targeting Mugabe, but all multiple farm owners.
“There are other senior people in Zanu PF and government
who are multiple farm owners. It would be a misnomer to target one person or
one family. All people who own multiple farms should be encouraged to return
them for allocation to landless Zimbabweans,” he said.
EFF leader Innocent Ndibali said they would soon petition
President Emmerson Mnangagwa demanding that he forces Mugabe to relinquish 20
of his 21 farms.
The radical opposition group, whose leadership is in the
Diaspora, said it would soon agitate for the invasion of Mugabe’s properties,
if no action was taken.
“We, as EFF, are calling on the freedom fighters,
traditional leaders and landless citizens to join us as we are lobbying to take
over 20 of 21 Mr Mugabe’s farms. We are not apologetic on this and it is not
political, but a fair practice, as it addresses the past imbalances.
“Our fathers did not fight and die for one man to have 21
farms. Our fathers did not fight and die to have other races displaced, but to
uplift every citizen into same living standards,” the opposition group said.
Presidential spokesperson George Charamba, however, seemed
to suggest that Mugabe could be done in by his own creation.
“The official policy position is one person one farm. This
is a government policy. It was not created by President Mnangagwa, but by the
former President (Mugabe),” Charamba told NewsDay.
Last month, State-controlled media claimed that Mugabe had
defied his government’s one-person-one-farm policy and allocated multiple farms
to his family and close relations, leasing out some of the land to white
commercial farmers.
Among other farms Mugabe is believed to have allocated to
himself include Gushungo Estates (4 046 hectares) in Mazowe, Gushungo Dairies. (1 000ha), Iron Mask Estate in Mazowe Newsday
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