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Chief threatens to strip village head over land wrangle
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Newly appointed Chief Nyamandi, Togara Masunda, last week expressed anger at one of his village heads, Taiva Manjova, and threatened to strip him of his position for refusing to allocate land to a man born and raised in the village.
The dispute arose after Manjova argued that he could not allocate land to Admire Mafuta, who is the youngest in his family and expected to inherit his father's homestead and land. Chief Nyamandi, however, ruled that it was not Manjova's place to decide family inheritance matters. He stressed that Mafuta, now with a family of his own, was entitled to have land independent of his father.
Mafuta told the court that Manjova had been selling village land to outsiders from as far as Kadoma, leaving children born in the village without access to this vital resource. Chief Nyamandi warned Manjova that he would be removed from his position if he continued to abuse villagers over land allocation.
The chief also criticized Manjova for repeatedly ignoring prior court directives, saying, "We ordered you to allocate him land on October 31, 2024, and you haven't done so in violation of this court. You recently applied to upgrade your status, and do you think I will approve it when you behave like this?"
Chief Nyamandi further reprimanded Manjova for charging villagers for land, describing it as greed: "Who gave you permission to charge anyone for land? We don't charge our children for land. You already make more money and yet you are greedy to the extent of charging land."
The chief's court, held last Thursday, highlighted ongoing concerns about land management and fairness in village governance, with Masvingo Mirror reporting that the matter had escalated due to Manjova's repeated disregard for directives.
The dispute arose after Manjova argued that he could not allocate land to Admire Mafuta, who is the youngest in his family and expected to inherit his father's homestead and land. Chief Nyamandi, however, ruled that it was not Manjova's place to decide family inheritance matters. He stressed that Mafuta, now with a family of his own, was entitled to have land independent of his father.
Mafuta told the court that Manjova had been selling village land to outsiders from as far as Kadoma, leaving children born in the village without access to this vital resource. Chief Nyamandi warned Manjova that he would be removed from his position if he continued to abuse villagers over land allocation.
Chief Nyamandi further reprimanded Manjova for charging villagers for land, describing it as greed: "Who gave you permission to charge anyone for land? We don't charge our children for land. You already make more money and yet you are greedy to the extent of charging land."
The chief's court, held last Thursday, highlighted ongoing concerns about land management and fairness in village governance, with Masvingo Mirror reporting that the matter had escalated due to Manjova's repeated disregard for directives.
Source - Mirror
