A book by Edwin Masimba Moyo, a former owner of Kondozi Estates indicates the late former Information Minister Christopher Mushohwe, according to King Jay @KingJayZim.
The book is titled “My Kondozi Story: The People’s Hope Pillaged.“
Kondozi Estates was a farming business in Odzi in the province of Manicaland, which specialized in horticulture and would export produce to Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer and Waitrose in Europe among other places.
The farm was majority owned by Edwin Moyo and minority by Piet de Klerk. Despite being owned by an indigenous African, Kondozi was invaded by ZANU PF politicians in April 2006. The farm was renamed Beverly Hills Estates.
Edwin Moyo who is an entrepreneur, founder and owner of Rolex Fresh Exports, an agri-food company involved in growing, processing, handling, logistics and marketing of fruits and vegetables, described how Christopher Mushohwe and Didymus Mutasa thwarted the hope of about 15 000 black Zimbabweans dependent on the thriving horticultural business.
In the book, as reported by King Jay @KingJayZim, Moyo indicated that Mutasa, then Agriculture minister Joseph Made and former Manicaland governor Mike Nyambuya took over Kondozi and surrendered it to Mushohwe, who literally ran it down.
Moyo claimed the siege was done without President Robert Mugabe’s knowledge, with Mushohwe and Mutasa employing all tactics to bar traditional chiefs opposed to the invasion from seeking an audience with the veteran leader. Moyo wrote:
More than 5 000 workers, out-growers and other businesses were displaced and lost their livelihoods in order to resettle one minister.
Moyo narrates how a group of traditional chiefs from Marange had hired buses to Harare to meet Vice-President Joseph Msika in a bid to have the decision on Kondozi reversed, but were foiled by Didymus Mutasa and Chris Mushohwe. He said:
When Chris Mushohwe heard of the planned lobbying, he threatened to cancel the road permit of any bus company that would carry the chiefs to Harare. He was then Transport minister.
Moyo also claimed that his efforts to seek a meeting with the newly-appointed governor Nyambuya failed. Edwin Moyo said the ZANU PF “chefs” started looting the equipment from the farm after Chris Mushohwe failed to run it. Moyo added:
Arda clearly failed Kondozi. The only thing they succeeded in doing was to change the name from Kondozi to Arda Kondozi.
They tried several partnerships that did not work. The real motive had been to use State funds to assist Mushohwe eventually take over the business.
Mushohwe died on Monday, 13 February aged 69.