8 farm workers jailed for public violence

November 18, 2014 

EIGHT former farm workers at Whiteside Farm in Bromley were last week slapped with a four-year effective jail term each for violently resisting the takeover of the property by indigenous farmer Samson Chawuruka.

CHARLES LAITON
SENIOR COURT REPORTER

Provincial magistrate Milton Serima had initially slapped Phineas Mawini (51), Adiwel Adiwel (47), Lynah Chigombe (37), Esparanca Peter (36), Peter Nyamvura (32), John Jozare (29), Jonah Musekiwa (34) and Moses Mahala (23) with a five-year jail term each before setting aside one year on condition of good behaviour.

All the convicts were charged with public violence after attempting to block Chawuruka from occupying the farm which he bought from former farm owner John Leslie Lombard.

In passing sentenceSerima said: “It is not in dispute that the complainant and the now convicted (accused persons) lived a life of an eagle and sparrow.They traded accusations and counter accusations. All tobacco merchants will stop engaging their service. In Zimbabwe employment once lost, becomes a pie in the sky to regain it especially to unsophisticated individuals like accused persons.”

The court heard that late in 2011, Chawuruka bought the farm from Lombard who later left the property leaving the convicts, and some who are still at large, though there was no agreement to transfer their labour force to Chawuruka.

The court further heard, that the convicts formed a steering committee to spearhead taking over of the farm despite the fact that their employer had sold it. They approached the Ministry of Lands and were issued with a lease.

The said lease was however, withdrawn after Chawuruka challenged and won ownership of the farm in court and the farm workers were given until June 2014, to vacate the property.

However, in July this year, when Chawuruka and his employees proceeded to the farm to commence operations, they were denied entry by the convicts who were in the company of over three hundred others being led by Mawini and Adiwel.

The convicts are said to have armed themselves with stones, bricks, logs and shovels which they used to assault Chawuruka, Fungai Dhlakama and Ngonidzashe Koga causing them several injuries and the matter was reported to police leading to their arrest.