Beitbridge game farmer seeking new order to evict invaders
via Beitbridge game farmer seeking new order to evict invaders | SW Radio Africa by Mthulisi Mathuthu November 15, 2013
A Beitbridge game farmer, whose property was invaded by ZANU PF people last month, is seeking a new High Court after the police produced an old provisional order which they say bars him from evicting the invaders.The police have previously refused to effect another High Court order to evict the invaders from Denlynian Farm forcing the owner, Ian Ferguson, to appeal to the Sheriff in Harare.
The Southern Eye newspaper Thursday quoted Ferguson saying in a letter to a friend that ‘the deputy sheriff with a police escort will be ejecting the invaders’ on the same day following his appeal. But on Friday Ferguson told SW Radio Africa that the eviction did not go ahead, after the police produced a provisional order obtained by war vets who invaded his property three years ago.
Ferguson blamed the police for deliberately enforcing the provisional order wrongly, as it only bars him from evicting people from ‘their villages’ and not from his property. According to Ferguson the police refused to accept his explanation, forcing him to return to the court. Ferguson told SW Radio Africa that next week he will ask the High Court to set aside the order produced by the police.
A month ago SW Radio Africa reported that a horde of ZANU PF supporters led by war vets who included Steven Mohadi (the younger brother of ZANU PF Minister Kembo Mohadi) had invaded the farm.
Since then there have been reports of theft, poaching and harassment of staff and clients by the invaders. Only a fortnight ago Ferguson told SW Radio Africa that the invaders had ‘virtually’ taken over. All along the police have been refusing to accompany the High Court sheriff to evict the invaders.