×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

145 families face eviction as political interference fails

News
AT least 145 families illegally settled at Kingsdale Farm in Norton with the backing of Zanu PF Mashonaland West chairperson Temba Mliswa

AT least 145 families illegally settled at Kingsdale Farm in Norton with the backing of Zanu PF Mashonaland West chairperson Temba Mliswa were yesterday served with eviction notices by the Deputy Sheriff.

BY CHARLES LAITON SENIOR COURT REPORTER

According to the notices gleaned by NewsDay, the 145 families were part of a group of 289 families that have allegedly defied the Constitutional Court order and continued to stay on the property on political grounds.

Maparahwe Properties director and Harare lawyer Cuthbert Mpame, who bought part of the land from Pieter Nicholas Nel, confirmed the latest development, adding the court papers had been sent to the Deputy Sheriff for action.

“What I can confirm to you is that we have served about 145 occupants with notices of eviction through the Deputy Sheriff. In total there are about 289 families that had illegally settled on the farm and were ordered by the court to leave the farm in October last year, but they refused,” Mpame said.

“We even offered to accommodate them at the farm on condition they buy the land from us but again they declined to take the offer and we were left with no option, but to enforce the court order.”

Mpame said the farm had been invaded by over 1 000 occupants and out of them 800 had agreed to stay under offered conditions of buying the land from the rightful owners.

The ejectment of the occupants came barely a week after the farm owner Nel made an urgent chamber application at the High Court seeking to bar the Hurungwe West legislator Mliswa from taking over Kingsdale Farm and allocating stands to illegal settlers.

The dispute over the ownership of the said farm, measuring 161 828 hectares, was resolved in October last year by the Constitutional Court which ruled in Neil’s favour saying the government had illegally acquired the farm.

One of the farm occupants who is paying for his residential stand Simon Nyasha Sibiya, who was barred by the court from interfering with operations at the farm, held a meeting with the evicted occupants last Sunday.

“On Sunday he (Sibiya) urged the occupants to stay on the farm telling them he was working with top government officials to make sure they remain on their stands. The reason is that he does not have the money to pay them back since he had sold the land to them. Not only does he not have the money, as a politician he also wants to garner support for the upcoming senatorial elections,” the resident said.