Two people have been arrested in connection with the invasion of Umvutcha Farm, a family-run farm, on the outskirts of Bulawayo, reported CITE.
The ownership of the property has been in dispute for years after the Ministry of Lands allegedly placed an erroneous caveat on the land.
The family lawyer, Bruce Masamvu of Masamvu & Da Silva-Gustavo Law Chambers, told the publication that police are still carrying out investigations to find out who is behind the invasion. He said:
Police said they have arrested at least two suspects who were part of the crowd that was trying to evict the family from their property. They said they are still carrying out investigations to find out who is behind the invasion.
Court documents on the property, cite Alister Michael Fletcher as the applicant and Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Registrar of Deeds and Robert Njanji as respondents, showing that several court applications have been made to the property various judgments have been passed.
In September 2020, several war veterans who had resettled at the farm were served with eviction notices after the son-in-law of the former owner Alister Micheal Fletcher successfully challenged the seizure of the farm by the government.
Fletcher’s son-in-law, identified as TR Maidwell, applied for their eviction and won a default judgment after the farmers failed to respond to his application.
A recent report claims the farm is owned by Tara and Troy Maidwell. The family is into market gardening, supplying numerous supermarkets in Bulawayo with vegetables.
Land ownership is an emotive issue in Zimbabwe, dating back to the late 19th century when British fortune hunters colonised the country and seized land from Africans.
In the year 2000, the Government of Zimbabwe embarked on a controversial land reform programme to “correct historical imbalances” by redistributing land owned by whites among Africans.
However, hundreds of white farmers remained on their farms and some landless blacks have been pushing the Government to be allowed to take over the farms.
More: Pindula News