40 villagers arrested over Maleme Ranch occupation resistance

APPROXIMATELY 40 villagers were yesterday detained by police officers as pressure mounted on a Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) boss to give up Maleme Ranch in Matabeleland South.

Villagers who are running various agricultural projects at the ranch like poultry farming were locked out by Mashingaidze and his employees who are reportedly on a looting spree at the farm.

Villagers are resisting the allocation of the farm to CIO boss Rodney Mashingaidze and have vowed to fight to the bitter end to avoid the farm being taken over.

In probably the first of its kind, villagers volunteered to be arrested by the police, who had gone to the farm to protect it from possible vandalism.