Judge slams attempts to evict new farmers
http://www.financialgazette.co.zw/
Friday, 28 September 2012 08:40
Njabulo Ncube, Assistant Editor
A HIGH Court judge has slammed attempts by government officials to forcibly
evict more than 30 black farmers from a prime farm without a court order to
pave the way for the resettlement of a chief in President Robert Mugabe’s
home area of Zvimba, in Mashonaland West.
Justice Happious Zhou last week upheld an interdict restraining Herbert
Murerwa, the Minister of Lands and Rural Resettlement, Masho-naland West
Provincial Governor Faber Chidarikire, Stanley Mhondoro, aka Chief Zvimba,
the district administrator (DA) for Zvimba and the officer commanding
Mashonaland West, from evicting 31 resettled farmers at Lion Kopje Farm.
The resettled black farmers were allocated plots on Lion Kopje Farm by the
government in 2004 under President Mugabe’s controversial land reform
exercise.
Apparently, the new farmers and their families were already staying at the
farm, having moved onto the property at the height of the land invasions in
2001.
The farmers were notified that the offer of plots on Lion Kopje Farm was
being withdrawn and that they were being relocated to another unidentified
farm through a letter dated August 1,2012.
The reason given for their eviction from Lion Kopje farm was that the
property had been allocated to Chief Zvimba, who is the fourth respondent in
the matter.
A letter dated July 16, 2012 shows that Murerwa had offered Chief Zvimba
Lion Kopje Farm but the chief had not signed the letter by August 7, 2012 to
signify his acceptance of the offer. Court documents show that on August 6,
2012, the resettled farmers were notified by a delegation which comprised a
chief lands officer, a Mr Vambe, Chidarikire, the DA and Chief Zvimba
himself, that they were to vacate the farm and abandon their homes by August
15, 2012.
The delegation, according to court documents, stated that if the new farmers
failed to vacate the farm, riot police would be unleashed to forcibly eject
them from Lion Kopje farm.
Government officials, including Chief Zvimba, argued that the resettled
farmers, applicants in the matter, were in breach of the law by remaining in
occupation of the farm after their right to occupy the property was
withdrawn.
Judge Zhou said the respondents, Murerwa, Chief Zvimba and others, contended
that the farmers’ occupation of the farm became unlawful in 2006 after the
Gazetted Land (Consequential Provisions) Act was enacted.
The government officials had argued that the farmers knew that they were
supposed to vacate the farm at that stage.
But Zhou in his judgment which The Financial Gazette has a copy of, said it
was far from the truth.
“That argument is not supported by the facts on the case. The application
was precipitated by the withdrawal of the applicants’ (new farmers) right to
occupy the plots allocated to them on Lion Kopje Farm and the subsequent
demand, accompanied by threat to invoke the force of the riot police, that
they abandon their homes of more than 10 years within a week,” said Zhou.
The Judge noted that Chief Zvimba admitted that indeed he intended enlisting
the force of the police to remove the resettled farmers from Lion Kopje Farm
without an order of court. He further went on to lash out at the conduct of
all the respondents, including Murerwa, Chief Zvimba, Chidarikire and the
police, saying their conduct constituted a threat to disturb the new farmers
without an order of court.
“Such conduct cannot be countenanced by the court, as it amounts to
self-help. This court has stated that even where a person has been issued
with an offer letter in respect of land they may not, without an order of
court, take the law into their own hands by just moving onto the farm and
forcibly ejecting those in occupation,” he said.
Zhou disagreed with the respondents’ contention that the farmers were in
breach of the Gazetted Land (Consequential Provisions Act Chapter 20:28) by
remaining in occupation of the property after their right to occupation was
withdrawn when they were offered alternative land, saying the government
allowed them to remain in occupation after it had been gazetted.
“The applicants occupied the plots, which were allocated to them and on
which they built homes. The withdrawal of their right to remain on those
plots is not pursuant to the gazetting of the land. It is merely because the
farm has been allocated to the fourth respondent (Chief Zvimba). The letter
dated 1 August, 2012 states that the withdrawal of the land offer and
relocation offer were necessitated by the allocation of the farm to the
fourth respondent,” said Zhou.
The judge said any attempts to eject the resettled farmers from their plots
without an order of the court would be unlawful. He added: “In any event, it
is unreasonable to expect persons who have built homes on a farm at which
they have been residing for more than 10 years to vacate the farm and
relocate to another place within a week.”
Zhou proceeded to grant an interim relief barring government officials from
evicting the resettled farmers from the farm without an order from the court
pending a determination on the matter. The farmers are further seeking a
final order stopping the government officials from evicting them from the
farm until after April 30, 2013.