Cephas Shava
MWENEZI – A
fresh land seizure has happened in the Mpapa area of Mwenezi where four men who
claim to be soldiers on Monday, May 25, invaded a sugarcane plot which belongs
to one Ann Brad Field and declared themselves new owners of the property.
The
four men reportedly forced their way into the premises by hacking off the gate’s
lock and demanded that workers accord them unrestricted access to all
properties at the place.
The
leader of the group was identified only as Chikura who reportedly hails from
Harare.
Plot
supervisor Joram Muvhuzhi said the four men had visited the plot before and had
introduced themselves as soldiers.
“The
four men forcefully drove into the premises by cutting the gate’s locks saying
they were now the new owners of the place. They demanded access to all places
at the plot. As I tried to get hold of the police, I left the place and they
started preparing food for themselves. The owner of the plot was away when all
this happened,” Muvhuzhi told TellZim News by phone.
White
sugarcane plot holders in the area continue to face an uncertain future, with
many of them receiving threats of eviction over the past three years.
In
the run-up to the 2018 harmonised elections, some politicians made several
attempts to evict one white farmer from his plot.
Mpapa,
which fall under Mwenezi Rural District Council (RDC) Ward 13, is an area
situated between the borders of Triangle and Mwenezi districts.
It
has a total of 17 sugarcane farmers; 13 of them being Blacks while four are
whites. Each farmer has an average sugarcane plot measuring 35 hectares.
