PSC Commissioner "Invades" Farm In Mazowe In Defiance Of Court Order
A commissioner at the Public Service Commission (PSC) has reportedly invaded the lucrative Amandas Estate in the Mazowe area.
Farmers in the area say the development is likely to disrupt one of the most productive farms in Mazowe District where agricultural production is booming.
The commissioner, Tsitsi Choruma Choruma, has since occupied part of the Amandas Estates and recently drilled a borehole despite a restraining order issued by the Magistrates Court.
The court order was issued to protect the other farmer and industrialist Prosper Muchenje who was originally allocated the 200-hectare land in 2013.
The PSC commissioner was allocated 50 hectares of land for crops and livestock by the Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development minister Anxious Masuka on March 14, 2022.
The Independent reports that Muchenje has since taken the matter to the courts challenging the expropriation of his farm which resulted in Choruma benefiting.
Choruma told The Independent that she was allocated part of Amandas Estate following due processes resulting in the Lands ministry issuing an offer letter.
She said she has all the required paperwork to prove that the farm subdivision was done following the procedure.
However, Muchenje alleged that Choruma unleashed a powerful arsenal of retired soldiers in the Mazowe area who are threatening to take over about 50 hectares of the maize crop which is yet to be harvested.
This exposes the lack of respect for property rights, a move that is reminiscent of the 2000 chaotic land reform programme where war veterans and Zanu PF supporters violently grabbed farms.
The farm battle has been raging and Muchenje once wrote to Mashonaland Central Provincial Affairs minister Monica Mavunga raising corruption allegations against Lands ministry officials.
