News / Regional
War veteran evicted from Kensington farm
27 Dec 2011 at 16:46hrs | Views
A WAR veteran and his family were allegedly driven out of their farm in Springs, Kensington, on the outskirts of Bulawayo by six men who claimed to be war veterans and dumped in Figtree.
Relating his nightmare, Jethro Sibanda said on 3 December, six men entered his compound and ordered him to leave.
"Six people namely Dominic Ndlovu, June Masango, Aaron Dube, Abednego Sibanda and two others came to my farm and cut my fence saying they wanted me to leave the farm for crimes that I had committed in the area," he said.
He said they accused him of cattle rustling and poaching which he denied, saying if he was indeed guilty of the crime he should have been arrested.
"If I was guilty of these crimes why was no action taken to arrest me. I think the problem is that there is no grazing land for their cattle and I am a hindrance to their business, that is why they evicted me from the farm," said Sibanda.
He said the six manhandled him and started removing his belongings from the house.
"They held me and broke down the door to my house and gathered my belongings and started loading them onto a truck," he said.
Sibanda said when he tried to resist he was tied up, covered with a blanket and bundled into the truck by the men.
"When I started to protest they tied me up and put me into the truck. When my wife started to protest they held her and put her and the children into the truck," he said.
Sibanda said they were driven off by the men and the next thing he knew he was at the turn-off to Usher Girls' High along Plumtree road.
"We slept by the road-side for three days and we were rained on until on Monday, Phumuza Ndlovu, the war veteran chairman for Leighwood area in Figtree, came to our rescue," said Sibanda.
He said he made a report at Hillside Police Station.
"I do not know what to do because schools are now about to open and I have two children who attend Imbizo Primary School," he said.
Phumuza Ndlovu said he was surprised that the family was evicted from their farm and dumped in the area creating a bad name for him.
"What do people say when they see him at the road side like this? It reflects badly on the war veterans in the area of Matabeleland South. I am definitely not happy about the issue," he said.
He pledged to act on the issue by discussing it with the national war veterans' association chairman, Jabulani Sibanda.
Relating his nightmare, Jethro Sibanda said on 3 December, six men entered his compound and ordered him to leave.
"Six people namely Dominic Ndlovu, June Masango, Aaron Dube, Abednego Sibanda and two others came to my farm and cut my fence saying they wanted me to leave the farm for crimes that I had committed in the area," he said.
He said they accused him of cattle rustling and poaching which he denied, saying if he was indeed guilty of the crime he should have been arrested.
"If I was guilty of these crimes why was no action taken to arrest me. I think the problem is that there is no grazing land for their cattle and I am a hindrance to their business, that is why they evicted me from the farm," said Sibanda.
He said the six manhandled him and started removing his belongings from the house.
"They held me and broke down the door to my house and gathered my belongings and started loading them onto a truck," he said.
"When I started to protest they tied me up and put me into the truck. When my wife started to protest they held her and put her and the children into the truck," he said.
Sibanda said they were driven off by the men and the next thing he knew he was at the turn-off to Usher Girls' High along Plumtree road.
"We slept by the road-side for three days and we were rained on until on Monday, Phumuza Ndlovu, the war veteran chairman for Leighwood area in Figtree, came to our rescue," said Sibanda.
He said he made a report at Hillside Police Station.
"I do not know what to do because schools are now about to open and I have two children who attend Imbizo Primary School," he said.
Phumuza Ndlovu said he was surprised that the family was evicted from their farm and dumped in the area creating a bad name for him.
"What do people say when they see him at the road side like this? It reflects badly on the war veterans in the area of Matabeleland South. I am definitely not happy about the issue," he said.
He pledged to act on the issue by discussing it with the national war veterans' association chairman, Jabulani Sibanda.
Source - chronicle
