Decide Nhendo
Three Masvingo men have appeared before Masvingo Magistrate Court facing charges of settling within prohibited land at Avonmore farm.
Pondiwa Charumbira (54), Ezekiel Mazani (29), and Simbarashe Charumbira (54) appeared before Masvingo Magistrate Tariro Mudzingo on January 22, 2024, and were remanded out of custody to January 30 2023 for continuation of trial.
Appearing before Mudzingo, Pondiwa said he was given the farm by a village headman at Avonmore Farm in 1997 during the land reform programme, producing receipts in court as exhibit, adding that he had been paying tax.
“I was given this farm by the late headman in 1997 and I have been paying tax to Masvingo Rural District Council for my homestead, so I do not know my crime because I was only given the farm,” said Charumbira.
The state led by Tarisai Muvengi alleges that on January 18, 2024 Masvingo Zimbabwe Republic Police were led by Council and Ministry of Lands personnel to Avonmore Farm, Village 31, Masvingo on an ongoing operation called “Operation Order No To Land Barons” and managed to arrest the three before the operation was cut short by rains.
It is alleged that there are nearly 100 illegal settlers at Avonmore Farm, who are on the verge of being displaced as “Operation Order No to Land Barons” is progressing.
Government is working to stop land barons and people who are illegally selling or distributing communal lands and nearly 13,000 illegal settlers in Masvingo Province are said to be left homeless from state’s effort to remove those situated on prohibited lands.
Recently in Mushandike, at least 60 people were taken to court over the same issue, with some of them being traditional leaders facing charges of illegally distributing land.
As of 21 January 2024, a total of 364 illegal settlers had been arrested in the province as confirmed by the Provincial Police Spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe Dehwa.
He went on to warn people who were settling in illegal settlements that the long arm of the law will catch up with them.
