ANGRY villagers in Honde Valley on Friday threatened to take the law into their own hands and set the Eastern Highlands Tea Estate on fire following the seizure of their cattle by the company’s security guards.
BY CLAYTON MASEKESA
The villagers told NewsDay that some of their cattle were starved to death after being detained in holding pens for months without water for “trespassing” into the estate.
They alleged that since March this year, 18 cattle had died, while many others had suffered stillbirths and dystocia due to starvation.
They claimed the estate charged them $3 per day for each impounded beast.
The villagers said they once dragged the company to court where the estate was ordered to fence off its tea plantations.
Contacted for comment, Eastern Highlands Plantations board chairman Shepstone Muzvidziwa said: “I am not aware of that. I will have to look into the matter.
“This is a very serious issue that needs to be discussed. When cattle die in this situation it means something has to be done. I am going to look into this.”
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
The villagers threatened to set the tea estate on fire if their grievances remained unresolved.
An irate villager said: “The estate was told to put a fence as a boundary on the tea plantation but it failed. The tea plantation is adjacent to where the pastures are, so that is where we herd our cattle. There are chances that the cattle will stray into the tea plantation.”
“My cattle were impounded and three of them died as I failed to source the money to have them released. A lot more of them are having stillbirths in the holding pen. We now want the responsible authorities to help us as more cattle will die if this is not solved as soon as possible,” said an elderly villager who claimed his bill had ballooned to $205.
