Traditional leaders in Ntabazinduna, Umguza District District, Matabeleland North Province, have warned people who bought residential stands in the communal area in 2021 from land barons that they will be evicted.
The traditional leaders, who include headmen, village heads and dethroned Chief Felix Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni, made the resolution after launching an investigation into illegal land deals in Ntabazinduna.
They started the investigations into the illegal sale and allocation of land in Ntabazinduna communal lands in 2019.
In a statement, Ndiweni, who reportedly still has influence in Ntabazinduna said the investigation by traditional leaders which commenced in 2019 is still continuing. He added:
All stands issued from November 2019 to the end of 2020 are under investigation and strong action will be taken.
Questionable structures will be demolished through the court system.
Ntabazinduna is communal land, which means that the land belongs to the whole community of Ntabazinduna.
As a result, no one has a title deed for any bit of land in Ntabazinduna. The land is owned by the people of Ntabazinduna.
This means no one can buy a virgin piece of Land in Ntabazinduna.
The only way one could purchase a stand in Ntabazinduna is if there are dwellings on that piece of land, some form of development, for want of a better word.
This would mean that the stand being sold would be old. Not new virgin land.
Reports indicate that land barons are illegally selling residential stands to desperate land seekers in Ntabazinduna for anything upwards of US$5 000, with potential buyers asked to US$350 to the village head and a further US$20 in registration fees.
The illegal parcelling out of land is rampant in Ward 6 which covers Nhlambabaloyi, Madlelenyoni, Mputshini and Mbelesiniwhere.