Zimbabwe minister evicted from farm

Zimbabwe minister evicted from farm

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By Agencies

ZIMBABWE'S Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo has been booted off a farm he seized at the height of the controversial land grabs.

His eviction came within days after the bulky Mashonaland West governor Peter Chanetsa was also evicted from another farm as part of President Robert Mugabe's plan to reclaim farms from top officials in line with his one-man-one farm policy.

Zimbabwe's porivately owned Daily Mirror newspaper reports that police have already moved onto 'Chombo's farm' in Mashonaland West and ordered the cessation of all agricultural activities.

Police descended on the farm, Chikomo Chemhunga , situated about 15 kilometres outside Banket along the Raffingora road this week, as part of the State’s efforts to repossess excess land from multiple farm owners, the paper said.

A number of senior government officials and pseudo-columnists with an identity crisis in the government controlled media have tried to derail the one-man-one farm policy by giving academic meanings to the phrase-multiple farm ownerships, to encourage those with more than one farm to continue holding onto excess land.

All this, at the expense of the landless people.

Christopher Shumba, the Provincial Administrator for Mashonaland West yesterday confirmed that the police recently moved to the farm on suspicion that Chombo might be its owner.

He said the suspicion that Chombo owned the property was after he had turned the farmhouse into his Zvimba North constituency office.

“The minister turned the farm house at Chikomo Chemhunga into his constituency office. The police may have thought that the minister had taken the whole farm. However, it is important to note that the farm consists of 22 subdivisions and there are some people who have been affected as well,” Shumba explained.

The farm becomes the second in the province where law enforcement agents have moved in, after descending on a farm owned by former Mashonaland West governor, Peter Chanetsa.

Apart from owning a farm in Mashonaland West, Chanetsa was accused of owning another one in Guruve registered in the name of one I. Chanetsa.
Efforts to get a comment from Chombo were fruitless as his mobile phone went unanswered and remained so until the time of going to press.

However, the Ministry in the President’s Office and Cabinet responsible for Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement reportedly wrote an eviction letter to Chombo. Chombo is said to have replied that he was not interested in the property except for the farmhouse.

On the presence of law enforcement agents, police spokesperson, Wayne Bvudzijena, said: “As the government regularises the resettlement programme, we are making sure that instructions are followed. The police are going to remain on those farms until the issue of multiple farm ownership is concluded. We hope that the investigations will be prompt and not take time.”

Among the first senior government officials to surrender excess land are senior secretary in the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture Thompson Tsodzo and Matabeleland North Governor, Obert Mpofu.
Additionbal reporting Daily Mirror
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