Soldiers evict Domboshava villagers from farm

FEAR and panic have gripped villagers at Balkiza Farm in Domboshava after soldiers at the nearby Alfida Barracks allegedly ordered them to leave their smallholder farms to make way for them.

BY OBEY MANAYITI

Villagers were left homeless and are now staying in makeshift houses at nearby village

The majority of the villagers are now homeless and staying in makeshift plastic houses at nearby Pote village after they were told to demolish their houses or risk unspecified “punishment”.

NewsDay visited the area on Tuesday, where elderly villagers and war veterans openly criticised the alleged unrestrained behaviour by soldiers, who usually patrol the area allegedly instilling fear in them.

The majority of the villagers said since the beginning of the clashes they had lost their valuables and were now slowly giving up the fight, as the soldiers were threatening to deal with them until they leave.

“We have been living in this area since 2000, when we took over part of Balkiza Farm under the land reform programme. Our stay at the farm was blessed by the Local Government ministry through the Goromonzi district administrator’s office.

“When we took over the farm, we went to settle in the mountainous portion after we heard the army was interested in the arable part. It is surprising that they are harassing us and ordering elderly people who also fought during the liberation war off the area,” one of their representatives, who requested anonymity fearing further victimisation said.

The news crew saw several houses that had been destroyed and their makeshift plastic houses that are being erected outside the contentious piece of land.

They said uniformed soldiers driving military vehicles often patrol the area, warning villagers to leave and efforts to engage Zanu PF officials had not yielded desired results.

“Imagine that I was forced to bring down my house, yet, I have no alternative accommodation. The majority of people here participated in the liberation struggle, hoping for a better Zimbabwe, but the soldiers are telling us that our contribution is now history. The majority of people here are also looking after orphans and all that is not being taken into consideration,” one of the affected villagers said.

“If the army wants this land for whatever purpose, they should first find alternative land for us. Imagine that we are in the rainy season and how are we going to cope. This is heartless and we would want President Robert Mugabe to know what is happening to us.”

Some of them wailed as they narrated their ordeals to NewsDay Weekender, saying their school-going children have been negatively affected.

Zimbabwe Ex-Political Prisoners, Detainees and Restrictees’ Association secretary-general, Percy Kuzvinzwa condemned the victimisation, saying this was against Mugabe’s wishes.

“When we were at a meeting with the President last week, he made it clear that no one should be evicted and we condemn what is happening now. This is illegal and if they want space they should approach relevant offices. This is not allowed by the party (Zanu PF) and government, especially on people who fought for the liberation of this country,” he said.

Contacted for comment, public relations officer at Alfida Barracks Sergeant Solomon Chinaka dismissed the claims as “propaganda”.

“It’s not true. Those are lies motivated by propaganda,” he said.