Zimbabwe: Top CIO Officer in Land Seizure
Posted on March 9, 2015 by ZimSitRep_M — 3 Comments ↓
via allAfrica.com: Zimbabwe: Top CIO Officer in Land Seizure. 7 March 2015
THE lands ministry has dragged a white Esigodini commercial farmer to court seeking his eviction from the piece of land which has since been allocated to senior intelligence officer Zenzo Ntuliki.
Timothy Sean White of Lot 2 of 36 Essex Vale Estate Avalon Farm in Esigodini will face trial on the 18th of this month at the Gwanda magistrate’s court charged with unlawfully occupying gazetted land.
White made a brief appearance at the Gwanda court Friday.
Allegations against White are that sometime in 2003 a notice was issued in terms of the Land Acquisition Act of the President’s intention to compulsory acquire Avalon Farm for the purposes of resettlement.
White was allegedly supposed to vacate the piece of land in 2007 but did not comply leading to his arrest.
According to the court records Umzingwane district land officer Margaret Ngwenya will testify that White was among the few white farmers who were recommended to remain on their farms in 2007 as they were productive and co-existed with locals.
“Until then he remained undertaking horticulture farming. It was towards the end of December 2014 that the district lands committee recommended his property to Zenzo Ntuliki. The minister of lands issued an offer letter to Zenzo Ntuliki and he signed it on the 12th of December 2014,” reads Ngwenya’s statement.
“On the 16th of December 2014, Mr. Timothy Sean White was advised that the property had now been allocated to the beneficiary Mr. Zenzo Ntuliki.”
Through his lawyer Josphat Tshuma of Webb, Low and Barry, White will enter a not guilty plea.
He argues that he is occupying the farm by virtue of a permit extended to him by the lands ministry in 2007 which was confirmed in a letter written to him on the 17th of May of the same year. White will argue his permit has not been cancelled neither has he been issued with a notice to vacate the farm.
He further argues he occupies a portion of the farm measuring 30ha by virtue of mining rights he possesses.
White is among a host of white commercial farmers that will be hauled at the Gwanda magistrate’s courts this month facing similar charges Others include Craig Markram Edy, Peter Cahill, Barbara Nel and James MacDonald Crawford. ]
Ntuliki is former Matabeleland South CIO regional director and has been linked to many heinous activities such as cattle rustling and terrorism.
During the 1980s he worked closely with the late Menard Muzariri and Sydeny Nyanugo both chief logisticians of the Matabeleland genocide.
He is a former ZANLA cader who was based in both Morogoro and Mgagao in Tanzania during the liberation war.
He is now based in Gweru.