News / Local
Kasukuwere's brother evicts families from Insingiza Farm
08 Oct 2021 at 01:23hrs | Views
Hundreds of families were yesterday evicted from Insingiza Farm in the Mapunga area on the outskirts of Bindura, owned by expelled former Zanu-PF provincial chairperson Dickson Mafios and his half-brother Tichaona Danny Kasukuwere.
Women and children were aimlessly wandering around with their properties by the roadside along the Bindura-Harare highway when The Herald visited the farm yesterday.
One of the farm workers, Mr Gift Sande, said they stopped working in 2014 due to poor working conditions and remuneration.
"General Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ) came to assist us and intervene in 2014," he said. "They advised us to stop working if we are not paid for the labour and if we were experiencing poor working conditions.
"The first eviction order came in 2014 and we approached lawyers to get a better understanding of what the law says on labour issues. The issue subdued for all these years only to re-emerge today (yesterday).
"We were surprised when the messenger of court arrived at around 9am serving us with an eviction order and throwing our property outside.
"We don't have anywhere to go and we have infants and school going children. We started working at this farm in the 1990s before the land reform programme. Mafios took over this farm when we were already here and he later shared the farm with his brother Kasukuwere.
"This is the only home that we know, our fathers and forefathers died on this farm. We don't have anywhere to go from here."
Farm workers' chairperson Mr Shepherd Masimba said he was at a loss of words and he did not have any idea on how to deal with the situation.
"We are being victimised," he said. "We didn't get enough notice to move out and we don't have anywhere to go. Everyone is looking up to me, but I don't have any solutions.
"We were already here when Mafios took over the farm during the land reform programme.
I actually showed him around the farm. Efforts to get in touch with him for a way forward were fruitless since he is said to be in South Africa.
"They are coming back tomorrow to evict the remaining farm workers."
Mafios could not be contacted for comment yesterday.
Women and children were aimlessly wandering around with their properties by the roadside along the Bindura-Harare highway when The Herald visited the farm yesterday.
One of the farm workers, Mr Gift Sande, said they stopped working in 2014 due to poor working conditions and remuneration.
"General Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ) came to assist us and intervene in 2014," he said. "They advised us to stop working if we are not paid for the labour and if we were experiencing poor working conditions.
"The first eviction order came in 2014 and we approached lawyers to get a better understanding of what the law says on labour issues. The issue subdued for all these years only to re-emerge today (yesterday).
"We were surprised when the messenger of court arrived at around 9am serving us with an eviction order and throwing our property outside.
"We don't have anywhere to go and we have infants and school going children. We started working at this farm in the 1990s before the land reform programme. Mafios took over this farm when we were already here and he later shared the farm with his brother Kasukuwere.
Farm workers' chairperson Mr Shepherd Masimba said he was at a loss of words and he did not have any idea on how to deal with the situation.
"We are being victimised," he said. "We didn't get enough notice to move out and we don't have anywhere to go. Everyone is looking up to me, but I don't have any solutions.
"We were already here when Mafios took over the farm during the land reform programme.
I actually showed him around the farm. Efforts to get in touch with him for a way forward were fruitless since he is said to be in South Africa.
"They are coming back tomorrow to evict the remaining farm workers."
Mafios could not be contacted for comment yesterday.
Source - The Herald
