…as number of arrests shoots to 2k in Masvingo
By Felix Matasva
The Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) Manicaland chapter have complained that at least 77 war veterans were victimized and unfairly removed from land allocated to them in Manicaland province.
This was revealed by ZNLWVA Manicaland chapter chairperson David Garwe at a press conference held in Mutare recently.
Garwe pleaded with President Emmerson Mnangagwa to appoint a new Minister of War Veterans and Liberation Struggle Affairs who will sincerely address the challenges being faced by war veterans’ accross the country.
Mnangagwa recently sacked the War Veterans and Liberation Struggle Affairs Minister Christopher Mutsvangwa over alleged insubordination.
“The sacrifices made by war veterans during the liberation struggle were driven by a vision for a free and prosperous Zimbabwe where land will be distributed fairly and equitably among its people. It is deeply unjust and contrary to the principles of justice and equality to witness war veterans being subjected to prejudice and discrimination when it comes to land.
“We have a lot of comrades whose land was dispossessed and some were treated unjustly in terms to land. We have a list of about 77 comrades whose farms were taken. There are a lot of well documented complains about farms which have not been addressed,” Garwe said.
He said that war veterans were the vanguard of the liberation hence their rights were supposed to be respected.
“The maltreatment of war vets is inhumane as they are being chased away from their farms. Government and the ruling party will lose its credibility.
“As an organisation dedicated to uphold the rights and welfare of war veterans, we firmly assert that it is imperative to safeguard their rightful claims to land which they fought for during the noble struggle for liberation.
“The dispossession of land is a violation of both the provisions of section 21 cited above and sections 23 and 84 of the Constitution which direct the State and all institutions and agencies of government to accord us due respect,” he said.
Garwe noted that the removal of Christopher Mutsvangwa was a welcome development since he ignored their grievances.
“We would like to put it on record that as war veterans, we do not celebrate nor cherish the demise of a colleague, more so a fellow war veteran but we feel greatly relieved when an obstacle to the realization of our welfare goals is removed. He was an obstacle and was even pompous. We can assure our colleagues that the way has been opened for us to escalate our welfare issue,” Garwe said.
The call comes at a time the country is gripped by the Operation Order No to Land Barons which saw a number of people being arrested for illegally settling in gazetted land.
Garwe was accompanied by the ZNLWVA national secretary for lands Mike Makiweni, provincial secretary-general Ivan Mbengo and provincial deputy chairperson Tanda Rambiwa, among other war veterans.
…as number of arrests shoots to 2k in Masvingo
By Beverly Bizeki
2 068 people have been arrested for settling on illegal land in Masvingo in the ongoing Operation Order No To Land Barons’ which is being carried out across the country.
Masvingo Provincial Police Spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa confirmed the arrests and said 585 convictions have been made since the operation started on January 10, 2024.
“The operation is still ongoing and we have arrested a total of 2 068 illegal settlers in Masvingo Province and 585 of these have been convicted so far. We continue to urge those who are still settled in illegal places to vacate these areas,” said Dhewa.
At the onset of the operation, Masvingo Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Ezra Chadzamira said the operation was meant to bring sanity to communal lands as he said the illegal parceling out of land becomes a source of conflict between locals, government and law enforcement authorities.
“Illegal settlements which often become source conflict between locals, government and law enforcement authorities in Masvingo have been a topical issue, often being used by land barons to swindle people’s hard earned money.
“Masvingo province has illegal settlements in all seven districts. The settlers occupy catchment areas, wetlands, grazing land, peri-urban areas and other agricultural land affecting productivity and threatening other dam and river catchments with siltation,” said Chadzamira.
Permanent Secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Dr Addmore Pazvakavambwa said the operation was not about who distributed the land, but about people settling in the right places with the right documents required for one to acquire land in Zimbabwe.
“The operation doesn’t care who gave you the land as long as proper procedures are not followed one will be evicted. The procedure is that if its agricultural land one gets through lands and if it’s residential land the one goes to the local authority. So I want to warn those who haven’t been approached to make sure they have the required documents to avoid inconveniences,” said Dr Pazvakavambwa.
Traditional leaders have criticized the ongoing operation and called it shambolic as they say they have not been involved in the act despite being custodians of land and culture while others think it has to do with boundaries for chieftaincies.
Villagers have been dragged into the mess because of ignorance of the law as most did not know the Zimbabwe Land Commission Act and the Gazetted Lands Act which prohibits occupation of state land without lawful authority in the form of a permit, an offer letter or a lease.
Local villagers have said that they did not know they were committing a crime for over 20 years, whereby they invested in building on land they were allocated to by their village head and paying all required taxes to council every month.
The evicted people are also worried as they have lost their crops in the fields and are forced to sell their livestock for almost half prices out of desperation and above all this has affected school going children who have to live with the fear of finding their parents gone.
