More than 150 families at Old Citrus Farm on the outskirts of Chinhoyi town are living in the open after their homes and property have been burnt to the ground for the umpteenth time as the battle over the ownership of the piece of land turns nasty.
Over the last two weeks, the settlers, most of them who occupied Old Citrus Farm at the peak of the land reform programme in 2002, have been harassed, beaten and ordered off the farm by police as well as businessman and property mogul Phillip Chiyangwa's son, Bruce and his “friends”.
The settlers said they have not known peace at the farm since 2015.
Two years ago the High Court authorised Chiyangwa to evict the settlers who had approached the courts seeking to stop their eviction from the farm.
The courts said the invasion of the farm was in violation in terms of Section 3 of the Gazetted Lands and Consequential Provisions Act, which prohibits continued occupation of gazetted land 90 days after the gazetted date.
However, the settlers stayed put at Old Citrus Farm arguing that they also deserved a fair share of the 3 477 hectare piece of land as per the aspirations of the liberation struggle.
They said the major goal of the land reform programme was to address the issue of land ownership, which was heavily skewed in favour of white commercial farmers.
“Then why did people go to war and why did the government embarked on a land programme that benefitted only a few, leaving us the majority to battle over a piece of land for more than two decades,” said Abigail Dzepasi, a settler at the farm and a ward six Zanu PF district chairperson in Mhangura constituency.
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“Recently police in the company of Chiyangwa's son Bruce, his friend Takudzwa Chitate and hired touts came to the farm and burnt our homes.
“Farm inputs were destroyed and people are being harassed left, right and centre as we speak.
“While we acknowledge the court outcome, we feel that it’s unfair to leave us out considering we occupied this piece of land at the same time with Chiyangwa.”
The settlers are accusing Chiyangwa of bribing authorities and paying touts to intimidate them. They said they were staying away from the farm fearing victimisation.
“They have been coming to the farm during the week, torched almost 100 homes, destroyed property and in some instances stole our goods and belongings,” said Dzepasi.
Dzepasi said the entire hullabaloo at Old Citrus Farm was an abuse of process and an abuse of power, which has forced them to engage high echelons in Zanu PF.
“We have since approached the party to intervene because we are being harassed by an individual, who wants a large chunk of the land,” she said.
Chiyangwa was not reachable for a comment on the developments yesterday.
However, national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the police were only executing a court order.
