By Robert Tapfumaneyi

FARM workers at late former cabinet minister Kumbirai Kangai’s farm have been evicted from their dwellings after they requested to be paid their outstanding wage arrears.

The Goromonzi farm is now being run by Kangai’s widow, Miriam Kangai.

The evicted workers had been working on the farm for periods ranging from 10 to 15 years and are each owed an average ZW$13 000.

Narrating their ordeal to this NewZimbabwe.com this week, the farm workers’ representative Phillip Chidzetse said they have been treated like slaves and dumped.

“We have on several occasions tried to get Amai Kangai pay us but to no avail. We then met her and agreed that we can look for employment elsewhere whilst we were staying in the farm houses,” Chidzetse said.

“But on Wednesday when we were at our various work places we received calls from our wives and children that they were being evicted by heavily armed anti-riot police.

“By the time we got there, we were blocked by the police and just followed to where our families were being dumped along Domboshava road. Some of our property has been destroyed.”

Miriam Kangai said the farm workers had become a nuisance and were now stealing from the property.

“The issue is I was now staying with thieves,” she said, adding, “Ofcourse I owe them monies, we will talk about the money issue vachibva kudzimba dzavo (while coming from their new home).”

Kangai, a former cabinet minister and Zanu PF politburo member, died August 2013.