WAR veteran and businessman John Fadzisayi Jani has dismissed claims that Elmswood Farm in Marondera is under dispute with property developer Swandev (Pvt) Ltd, accusing the Marondera Municipality of deliberately creating confusion around the land ownership issue.
Jani said the local authority had for years made attempts to wrest the farm from him “through hook or crook”, despite him being the legitimate owner.
“The notion that my farm is under contestation with Swandev is false. This is the municipality’s own creation to bring confusion in the Elmswood matrix,” Jani told NewsDay yesterday.
“Over the years, they have tried every trick to take this farm away from me, but I remain the rightful owner.”
He alleged that the late Marondera ward 12 councillor Kennedy Muraicho was the director of Swandev (Pvt) Ltd and was working with the support of former Local Government minister Saviour Kasukuwere to parcel out residential stands on the farm.
“They tried to peg residential stands at Elmswood Farm, but the move was foiled,” Jani said.
“Since then, several groups and pseudo property developers have tried to grab the farm, but I have resisted these attempts.”
Jani revealed that foreign investors have expressed interest in the property, adding that he had plans to embark on an ambitious cyber city development project on the farm.
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“We are moving forward with plans to develop a modern cyber city at Elmswood,” he said.
“Investors are ready and I intend to transform this farm into a major development hub.”
The Marondera Municipality has been accused of allocating residential stands in violation of urban planning regulations, with some civil servants reportedly having been duped in the process.
Jani said some of those affected had been “fighting in council’s corner”, further delaying the resolution of the Elmswood Farm saga.
“Some civil servants were misled by the municipality and unfortunately, they ended up siding with council in this dispute,” Jani said.
“This has dragged the matter unnecessarily, but the facts are clear: this is my farm.”
The Elmswood Farm dispute has lingered for years, with questions raised over ownership, planning procedures and the role of both private developers and municipal authorities in the controversial residential stand allocation.
Last year, Marondera Municipality, in a statement, claimed to legally own Elmswood Farm.
This was after Swandev, now under the directorship of Tinomudaishe Muraicho and Tafira Makochekeranwa, had started parcelling out residential stands at Elmswood Farm.
“The Municipality of Marondera would like to clarify that the Elmswood land is wholly owned by council and no part of Elmswood land is owned by any other private developer or entity. Therefore, there is no joint ownership of the Elmswood land,” council said.
However, Lands permanent secretary Obert Jiri wrote to Jani on January 27, 2025, confirming that he is the lawful owner of the farm.
Jiri further stated that there had been no valid transfer of Elmswood Farm to the Local Government ministry or Marondera Municipality in line with the Lands Act.
Jani has since dragged Marondera Municipality to court over the issue.
