THE government and Goromonzi traditional leader Chief Rusike have approved the exhumation of a person buried at Whiteside Township in Bromley, land earmarked for a smart city.
The deceased, identified as White, was buried despite the police’s attempt to stop the process.
The landowner, Samson Chauruka, declared the property owner by the High Court in 2015, has failed to make meaningful developments as ex-farm workers refuse to vacate to an alternative land.
The land is earmarked for the construction of the Bromley Utopia Smart City, which was approved by the government in September last year.
Several eviction orders have been issued but in vain as the ex-farm workers at the Subdivision H of Whiteside Farm in Bromley turn violent and at several times have chased away law enforcers.
However, some of the ex-farm workers have since left for other places after the court ruling.
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Chauruka, who has failed to occupy the 40,8-hectare farm housing one of the country's biggest tobacco grading factories since 2011, recently got the shock of his life after renegade former farm workers moved to bury one of their own in an area designated for an industrial park.
Chauruka filed a police report, but the police officers failed to disperse the mourners and to stop the burial.
Chauruka yesterday NewsDay Weekender that he is yet to occupy the farm as the evicted people are disturbing the whole process by unleashing violence against his men and the police.
He added that the illegal settlers buried their deceased person illegally to frustrate the process despite Chief Rusike having offered an alternative burial place.
According to a letter dated May 4, addressed to the police in Goromonzi, Chauruka sought assistance from law enforcement agents to exhume the body.
“We kindly seek your assistance to enforce those responsible for the illegal burial of an adult male on Stand No. 83, Whiteside Township, on the 29th of April 2026, to exhume the body for reburial in an approved cemetery,” read the letter in part.
“A police report was made on the morning of 29 April, while the grave was still being prepared.
“Despite our explicit communication to the deceased family not to conduct the burial on the above property, a relative of the deceased, Mr Paul Gostino, defied and insisted on proceeding with the burial.
“Chief Rusike’s intervention and offer for an alternative burial site at nearby Marufu Farm were also ignored.
“We are reliably informed that Mr Faison Kome, claiming to be the local village head, had authorised the illegal burial and proceeded to continue fully aware that the owners of the property had refused."
According to a letter dated May 4, gleaned by this publication, Goromonzi district development coordinator Prisca Dube endorsed the exhumation.
“The above matter is important, our office has no objections to the process of exhumations as long as laws are being followed,” read the letter by Dube.
Traditional leader, Chief Rusike, also wrote a letter to Goromonzi Police recommending the exhumation of the deceased person.
Chief Rusike added that despite being in the wrong place, the deceased was buried in a waterlogged
grave, which is against cultural practices.
“I hereby write to you to advise that at Bromley Chauruka property, a certain man by the name White was buried without the consent of the property owner. He was not informed by the said occupants who are living there illegally,” wrote Chief Rusike in a letter dated May 1, gleaned by this publication.
“Furthermore, the burial was not decent according to cultural requirements. The deceased was buried in a waterlogged grave, as witnessed by my informants.
“According to the way it was done, it requires exhumation to rebury in a proper place and manner.”
An investigation by NewsDay Weekender showed that the farm has attracted interest from local politicians who are currently leasing some of the buildings as well as operating the tobacco grading factory.
The farm used to be owned by the late Lombert, who later sold it to Chauruka, an indigenous businessman who has vast farming businesses.
The ex-farm workers were evicted in 2012 before Zanu PF intervened, ordering them to re-occupy the compound until an alternative place was secured for them.
Surveyors working on the property are allegedly being disrupted by the illegal settlers.
Investors secured by Chauruka for the multi-million dollar Smart City project — which could unlock significant employment and development in all of Bromley — are reportedly frustrated due to delays in evicting the illegal settlers.