Minister Mohadi in wrangle over Beitbridge farm
By Tererai Karimakwenda
05 January, 2012
Despite being extremely wealthy and a Minister who is supposed to stand for
law and order, co-Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi is reportedly involved
in a legal battle to take over another farm in Beitbridge, with allegations
the row has turned into physical assaults and threats from Mohadi and his
family.
Reports said a war vet in the Beitbridge area, Given Mbedzi, alleges that
Minister Mohadi and his family are trying to forcefully remove him from a
farm that he legally owns in the Beitbridge area.
According to NewsDay newspaper, Mbedzi claims the property was allocated to
him in 2003 and has produced an offer letter to prove it. But Mohadi has his
own letter, signed six years later, naming his son Campbell as the rightful
owner.
On Saturday Mohadi is alleged to have threatened Mbedzi and his mother with
unspecified action if they did not leave. On the same day his son Campbell
allegedly assaulted Mbedzi’s elderly mother and deflated the tyres on their
rented vehicle.
Several members of Mbedzi’s family were later arrested for allegedly
tampering with locks Mohadi had put on some structures at the farm. It is
believed the arrest was facilitated by Mohadi and his wife Tambudzani, who
is a Senator in Beitbridge. The case is currently in the courts.
This case highlights the additional problems created by Robert Mugabe’s land
grab, which has not only destroyed the country’s food production but has
created a problem for generations to come, as individuals fight over parcels
of stolen land.
Most observers say there is a clear tendency among politicians in Zimbabwe
to pursue personal wealth at the expense of any service to the people.
Infighting is rife within political parties, including the MDC formations,
over opportunities for financial gain.
Former journalist Thabo Kunene told SW Radio Africa that ZANU PF politicians
have amassed great wealth in Zimbabwe. He named Vice President John Nkomo,
Mines Minister Obert Mpofu and Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo as
just a few of the examples.
Speaking on the Crisis Analysis programme, Kunene said these men were all
very poor before independence and have used their position in politics to
pursue financial gain, forgetting those who struggled with them during the
liberation war.
Kunene pointed to the fact that MDC politicians have also been chasing
personal wealth since they joined the coalition government. “Some of the
MDC-T legislators have tasted power, have become corrupt and amassed a lot
of wealth within a very short period of time,” Kunene explained.
SW Radio Africa’s Bulawayo correspondent, Lionel Saungweme, agreed. He
quoted businessman Phillip Chiyangwa, who once said: “If you want to become
rich join ZANU PF” and said some MDC legislators are displaying the same
greedy behavior.
“There used to be a tribal setup where one tribe was accused of dominating
the other. But now politicians, even here in Matabeleland, have become very
rich because they belong to ZANU PF,” Saungweme said. He added that Mohadi
was also implicated in cattle rustling and the theft of copper cables from a
phone company.
Mohadi, as a co-Minister for Home Affairs, is expected to set an example as
a law abiding citizen. But over the years he has drawn attention to himself
for nothing more than corruption and abuse of the rule of the law.