Police evict ZPRA veterans

Police have ordered former Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZPRA) combatants to vacate a piece of land they occupied in Chinhoyi last week during a protest demanding the return of properties seized by the government in the 1980s.

The ex-combatants, who were part of the military wing of the late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's Union (Zapu), say they have waited for decades for the return of properties confiscated by the state following the discovery of alleged arms caches—a development that triggered the Gukurahundi atrocities in Matabeleland and the Midlands.

The disputed land in Pearview, a newly developed suburb in Chinhoyi, is reportedly part of a property portfolio owned by Nitram Holdings, a company established by ZPRA veterans using funds from their demobilisation payouts. The veterans say they also own the Old Chinhoyi Hotel and Caves Hotel, both currently managed by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority.

However, last week their protest was met with a stern response from authorities. Police officers, allegedly acting under orders from their provincial superiors, visited the veterans at the site and threatened them with arrest and violence if they did not vacate the area.

"Some police officers came and asked us to vacate the place and threatened to beat us if we disobeyed the order, saying they had been sent by senior officers from Chinhoyi," said Canaan Sibanda, one of the protesting ZPRA veterans.

The group accused the authorities of attempting to suppress their demands and "shame" them into silence over unresolved issues spanning more than four decades.

When contacted for comment, national police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi said he was not yet aware of the developments. "I'm still to be updated on what really happened before I can comment," he said.

ZPRA veterans claim they purchased dozens of properties across the country using $50 contributions from their demobilisation funds following Zimbabwe's independence in 1980. These include farms, hotels, entertainment venues, and residential buildings.

One of the elderly protestors, 70-year-old Patricia Ndlovu, said, "We bought these properties with our own money. We sacrificed during the liberation struggle and continued sacrificing after independence by investing in the future of our organisation."

Among the properties listed in a Zapu inventory are Magnet House in Bulawayo—now housing the Central Intelligence Organisation—Clifford Farm and Highfield Estate in Norton, Green Haven along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Highway, Castle Arms Hotel, and Davies Hall, which is currently being used as Zanu PF's Bulawayo provincial headquarters.

The veterans are also demanding the return of a Queens Park East property in Bulawayo, formerly known as Lundi Hotel, which once served as a convalescent home for injured liberation war fighters and is now occupied by police officers and their families.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has previously promised to ensure the return of seized ZPRA properties. However, years later, no tangible progress has been made, prompting continued frustration and sporadic protests by the war veterans.

Zapu and its ex-combatants maintain that justice and reconciliation cannot be achieved without the full restoration of their property rights.