News / Local
Chombo wins back repossessed farm
21 Apr 2022 at 06:46hrs | Views
FORMER Local Government minister Ignatious Chombo has won back his Allan Grange Farm in Zvimba, which was repossessed by government through a phone call by Agriculture minister Anxious Masuka's messengers.
High Court judge Justice Lucy Mungwari granted Chombo interim relief ordering government to stop re-pegging his farm.
Government was also ordered to pay the cost of the lawsuit and not to interfere with his farming activities.
Chombo has occupied the dairy farm measuring 3 098,81 hectares for the past 21 years after he was given a 99-year lease in 2006.
He has 150 herd of cattle and 100 goats at the farm and 504 hectares under irrigated soya, maize and potatoes.
"I also employed 80 full-time and 150 part-time workers," Chombo submitted, adding that together with an investor Peary Investments, they invested more than US$3 million on the farm.
It is alleged that Masuka had re-planned the farm and divided it into 10 sub-divisions and offered them to other beneficiaries, giving them 99-year leases.
Early this year, Chombo was served with a letter of cancellation of his 99-year lease dated September 25, 2021.
On March 23, 2022, he received calls from officials from Masuka's office informing him that his farm would be subject to re-pegging.
On March 29, 2022 and April 4, some officials from the ministry started the re-pegging process without Chombo's consent, prompting him to approach the courts.
High Court judge Justice Lucy Mungwari granted Chombo interim relief ordering government to stop re-pegging his farm.
Government was also ordered to pay the cost of the lawsuit and not to interfere with his farming activities.
Chombo has occupied the dairy farm measuring 3 098,81 hectares for the past 21 years after he was given a 99-year lease in 2006.
He has 150 herd of cattle and 100 goats at the farm and 504 hectares under irrigated soya, maize and potatoes.
It is alleged that Masuka had re-planned the farm and divided it into 10 sub-divisions and offered them to other beneficiaries, giving them 99-year leases.
Early this year, Chombo was served with a letter of cancellation of his 99-year lease dated September 25, 2021.
On March 23, 2022, he received calls from officials from Masuka's office informing him that his farm would be subject to re-pegging.
On March 29, 2022 and April 4, some officials from the ministry started the re-pegging process without Chombo's consent, prompting him to approach the courts.
Source - NewsDay Zimbabwe
