Prison boss, Air Force officer reported for crop destruction

Patrick Cheza, a businessman and beneficiary of State land, has reported two senior officials to the police for allegedly destroying his maize crop at S/D 43 Mahamara Farm in Mvuma. The officials, Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) Officer Commanding Midlands Province Commissioner Somemore Gate and Josiah Magama Tongogara Airbase senior officer Stanford Ncube, are accused of malicious damage to property. The report was filed yesterday at Mvuma Police Station under case number RRB5909845.

Cheza alleges that the officers ploughed his field despite a pending High Court case in which he is seeking a declaratur and consequential relief over the same land. The confrontation occurred shortly after the Ministry of Lands released an official extract of the lands register in compliance with a High Court order. The extract lists 84 beneficiaries and confirms Cheza as a beneficiary for S/D 43, giving him prima facie authority to occupy and operate on the 125-hectare plot.

In his founding affidavit filed under case number HCMSCS 24/25, Cheza stated that he applied for the land in 2018, received confirmation of occupation from the district lands officer, and paid all statutory obligations to the Chirumanzu Rural District Council, including levies, development charges, and rentals. He added that he made further rental payments in 2023 and expanded the farm to include cattle, goats, sheep, crop farming, and staff accommodation for more than 50 workers, investing over US$200,000 in the property.

The dispute escalated in February 2024 when Ministry of Lands agents reportedly entered the property to re-peg the farm for potential reallocation to members of the Joint Operations Command (JOC). Cheza sought an urgent interdict at the High Court, which was dismissed. The Supreme Court later upheld the decision, ruling that Cheza had not attached the lands register extract to prove lawful occupation. He now argues that the release of the extract alters the legal position and establishes his right to the farm under the Land Commission Act.

Cheza claims that Commissioner Gate and Ncube entered the farm recently with tractors and began land preparations, actions he says constitute unlawful interference and destruction of his investment while the matter remains before the courts.

Efforts to obtain a comment from Commissioner Gate were unsuccessful as his phone was unanswered at the time of publication. The High Court is expected to determine whether Cheza's listing in the official lands register provides sufficient lawful authority to protect his occupation of the disputed property.