Home Affairs minister taken to court

Mohadis, villagers land wrangle spills into High Court
Court Reporter
THE land wrangle involving the son of co-Minister of Home Affairs, Kembo Mohadi, and four villagers has spilled to the High Court with the villagers seeking an order that they be allowed to stay on the piece of land peacefully.

In an urgent chamber application, Given Mbedzi, Sorofia Ndou, Aifheli Nare and Kumbirai Ncube want Campbell Trevor Mohadi, his mother Senator Tambudzani Mohadi, Danisa Muleya and Samuel Sibanda to remove all their property and locks they installed at Mbedzi's plot Number 1 of Lot 9 of Jopembe.

Mbedzi wants the respondents to be restrained from interfering with the gates, doors and fence on his plot.

According to papers filed by their lawyer, Mr Zibusiso Charles Ncube, of Phulu and Ncube Legal Practitioners they want the respondents to refrain from, either themselves or through persons under their control, placing any cattle or other livestock on their plots or from any way interfering with the farming operations they are carrying out on the Plots 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Lot 9 of Jopembe, Beitbridge.

They want the respondents to be ordered at their own expense to pull down a fence they erected on their plots.

Police officers in Beitbridge, they pray, should be authorised, empowered and directed to render all assistance necessary for them to carry out the order.

According to Mbedzi's founding affidavit, sometime in 2003, he was allocated the piece of land under the A1 self-contained land reform programme.

The other applicants are his neighbours and they were allocated their pieces of land during the same period.

He said sometime in 2009, the respondents and their agents appeared at his plot and threatened him with eviction. They told him that they had been allocated the same pieces of land as him and the others.

Mbedzi notes that they premised their argument on a letter issued to Campbell Trevor Junior Mohadi dated 19 October 2009 allegedly signed by Mthulisi Moyo, the acting district lands officer.

Mbedzi then approached the provincial chief lands officer, a Mr Mthimkhulu, who advised him that land is allocated by the district administrator and not the acting district lands officer.

"Respondents erected a fence around my property and that of the 2nd applicant (Ndou) and completely sealed us off. The same fence cuts across 3rd (Nare) and 4th (Ncube) applicants' plots.

"The fence adversely affects several people on and around the plots. On 27 December 2011, the fence was pulled down but we have no idea who pulled it down. However, Knowledge Muleya, 2nd applicant's son, Philemon Murabini, my employee and Ignatius Ncube, 4th applicant's son were singled out as suspects and arrested," wrote Mbedzi.

Mr Mbedzi states that he has been forcibly evicted from his property and that the respondents and their agents threw his property into the open.

"My cattle, goats and sheep as well as crops are all unattended as I have been illegally barred from my premises. I planted crops on an area of approximately two hectares and I stand to suffer great prejudice both potential and actual as my crops may whither if uncultivated. Further, my property is strewn all over and exposed to bad weather elements as well as unruly elements in society who may take advantage of the situation," he adds.

Mr Mbedzi says he now fears for his life as the respondents and their agents continue to threaten him and his family.

The applicants, who are facing criminal charges of malicious damage to property, say since their release from remand prison they were now homeless, as they have nowhere to go.

The four are some of eight villagers staying on a farm in Beitbridge West, who have a long-standing wrangle with Minister Mohadi over some plots adjacent to his farm and were arrested recently for malicious damage to property. They were accused of damaging a door belonging to Campbell Junior.

They appeared in court and when they were granted bail, the State evoked section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act meaning they remained in remand until last Thursday when the State did not make any further application and they were released. They have indicated through their lawyers that they are denying the charges and are arguing that the charges are an attempt to force them out of their plots.

Two offer letters were issued to both parties for the same plot. Mr Mbedzi has a letter issued in 2003 while Mohadi's son was issued with a similar letter in 2009.

The Minister's son was reportedly issued the plot after Mr Mbedzi had allegedly abandoned it.

The urgent chamber application is now before a judge who will decide whether to hear the parties or grant the provisional order being sought.

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