Decide Nhendo
A 75-year-old Village head from Mushandike area in Masvingo recently appeared before Masvingo Magistrate Court facing charges of allocating gazetted land.
Tinago Konde who is the village head for Village 15 appeared before Magistrate Elizabeth Hanzie and was remanded out of custody for continuation of trial on January 25.
Konde pleaded guilty to the charges and begged for leniency saying he was not aware that what he was doing was a serious crime which calls for a penalty.
“I admit that I was parcelling out land to people, may the courts have leniency on me since I was not aware that what I was doing was a crime which calls for a serious sentence,” said Konde.
It is the state’s case as presented by Godknows Mugondo that on January 10, 2024 a report was made that Konde was distributing gazetted land to people without authority of government specifically Ministry of Lands.
It is also alleged that Konde started distributing land to people from as early as 2000, within Mushandike Settlement area, of which the land belonged to the government.