Eighteen villagers from Chivhu who settled on Dagbreck Farm have been sentenced to eight months in prison each, by Magistrate Sharon Nxongo.
The Mirror reported that the villagers had settled on the farm without authority from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development.
However, the magistrate commuted the sentence to 140 hours of community service at different Government departments including Chivhu Magistrates Court, Runyararo Primary School and ZRP Chivhu.
The 18 are Milton Mupfumbi, Blessing Komba, Bright Komba, Jimu Simbi Tinotenda Mutawani, Henry Maphosa, Hillary Shura, Micah Maguma, Miriam Chikodza, Agnes Bhiri, Pepukai Mutsvakiwa, Even Munhande, Lovemore Tipedze, Aisha Murindango, Mercy Takura, Miriam Takura, Memory Kwashirai and Taruvinga Mashata.
It was the State case that the 18 unlawfully occupied Dagbreck Farm in January 2014 and proceeded to build homes and practised farming on gazetted land.
The ZANU PF-led government embarked on a land resettlement programme around the year 2000 but hundreds of thousands of people who need farmland were overlooked.
Instead, the elite, their relatives and associates grabbed most of the prime land, with reports claiming that some individuals took several farms each.
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