Riot police, soldiers attack Zanu-PF land invaders

Riot police and soldiers on Saturday attacked a group of Zanu-PF youths and war veterans who had invaded Chihoza Farm, in Daisy Hill, Chipinge East to stop Edwin Chinotimba, the son of Buhera South legislator Joseph Chinotimba from occupying the farm.

The Zanu-PF youths and war veterans claimed that Chinotimba had several other farms in Buhera South and did not hail from Chipinge and therefore could not be given priority ahead of them to occupy the 175 hectare farm with Macadamia nuts ready for harvest.

But riot police responded brutally by beating them up, forcing them out of the farm to give way to Chinotimba to occupy it.

Government, through former Manicaland Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Christopher Mushohwe, last year issued an offer letter to Chinotimba to occupy the land.

He (Edwin Chinotimba) is not from Chipinge. Why should he be allocated land from the area ahead of people from Chipinge? We say no to this, said one of the youths.