Bromley Farm: Murerwa intervenes
By Xolisani Ncube, Staff Writer
Saturday, 07 January 2012 11:41
HARARE – Lands and Rural Resettlement minister Herbert Murerwa has
intervened to end the nightmare of 130 families that were living in the open
along a railway line after being evicted from Bromley Farm on the outskirts
of Harare.
New owner of the farm Samson Chauruka had denied a report in the Daily News
earlier this week that he had evicted the families.
The Daily News based its report on extensive interviews with some of the
families during a visit to the area.
Yesterday, the families were returning to the farm after Murerwa’s
intervention following the Daily News report.
Faison Kome, one of the people who were living along the railway line,
yesterday said Murerwa called for a meeting of both parties to seek a
solution to the crisis that had left the families in a dire health
situation.
“We were invited by the minister yesterday (Thursday) for a meeting and he
told Chauruka to allow us to return to our houses. He told Chauruka to
construct new homes for all those people whose houses were demolished,” said
Kome.
“We hope that he (Chauruka) will be able to do the best thing for us because
we have suffered for a long period of time,” he said.
When the Daily News team visited Bromley Farm yesterday, tents pitched up by
a humanitarian organisation International Organisation for Migration had
been brought down, a sign that the families were now going back to their
homes.
Women and children could be seen busy transporting their belongings back to
the farm compound using wheel- barrows.
When the Daily News finally got hold of Samson Chauruka to find out when he
would be constructing these families new houses, he said he could not speak
to newspapers as the matter was still in the courts.
“As you know this matter is still before the courts I cannot comment. But I
can confirm that we held a meeting with the minister and other details I
cannot reveal to you,” said Chauruka.
Bromley Farm has been at the centre of dispute following the “purchase” of
the farm by Chauruka from Lesley Lombard, a white farmer who is now residing
at an old people’s home in Marondera.
According to former farm workers who were employed by Lombard, the white
farmer owes them huge sums of money in unpaid salaries and terminal
benefits.
The workers claim that they had struck an agreement with Lombard that they
would remain on the farm until their dues were settled.
A copy of the agreement seen by the Daily News shows that Lombard had
appended her signature to the agreement giving the workers a right to remain
on the farm and carrying on with the business.
Lombard gave the workers a right to use tobacco barns at the farm for them
to earn a living pending the payment of terminal benefits and wages.
Bromley is a tobacco processing concern.
However, the white farmer later on decided otherwise and sold the farm to
Chauruka who then evicted the workers.
Efforts to get hold of Lombard were fruitless as a visit to the old people’s
home in Marondera yielded nothing.
She was said to have gone out of her cottage.