Muzenda rejects Lands Commission verdict

War veterans leader Isaih Mashenjere Muzenda has rejected a ruling by the Zimbabwe Lands Commission that upheld the withdrawal, subdivision and reallocation of parts of his Cambria Farm in Masvingo, vowing to challenge the decision in court.

The ruling, handed down on December 8, 2025, allowed new beneficiaries to permanently settle on portions of the farm Muzenda was allocated by government in 2005. Muzenda has described the commission that made the decision as "captured" by Masvingo Minister of State Ezra Chadzamira, whom he accused of influencing the outcome and said he was prepared to expose their alleged relationship.

The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Development withdrew Muzenda's offer letter for the 1 760-hectare Cambria Farm in 2019 and subdivided it into six portions, leaving him with 331,4 hectares. Muzenda had received the farm under the Land Reform Programme on November 17, 2005.

He accused Chadzamira of engineering the repossession of his land, further alleging that the minister had illegally taken over Crest of Ibeka Farm from Yvonne Goddard, whom he said still holds a valid offer letter. Muzenda argued that Cambria Farm should never have been subdivided as it is a conservancy requiring large tracts of land rather than an ordinary agricultural holding.

According to Muzenda, the repossession of his farm violates several statutes and policy pronouncements designed to protect war veterans and land reform beneficiaries from arbitrary land withdrawals. He cited the Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Act, which he said prohibits the withdrawal of a war veteran's offer letter, adding that where land is lawfully withdrawn, the beneficiary must be compensated with land of similar size.

He also referred to a 2019 policy pronouncement in Parliament which directed the Ministry of Defence and War Veterans, working with the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement, to ensure that land allocated to war veterans is not repossessed and that all land previously taken should be returned to them.

Muzenda said he was consulting his lawyer to appeal against the Lands Commission ruling, which he described as unlawful and issued outside the prescribed timeframe. He argued that the verdict was invalid because it stemmed from a process that failed to comply with a High Court order.

He said his land was repossessed on the basis that he had been allocated three farms when, in fact, it was one property. After approaching the High Court, he produced an Acquisition Order confirming that Cambria Farm is a single entity. He later obtained a compelling order in January 2025 directing the Lands Commission to hear the dispute between him and the Ministry of Lands within 60 days, setting a deadline of March 2025.

Muzenda claimed the commission only convened the hearing on September 17, 2025, well outside the court-ordered timeframe, rendering the subsequent ruling a nullity. While the commission confirmed in its decision that Cambria is indeed one farm, it blamed Muzenda for delaying the hearing, alleging that he repeatedly gave excuses for failing to attend meetings.

The Lands Commission further ruled that Cambria Farm was not suitable for conservancy and that the new settlers could not be removed because they had already invested in the land, with some reportedly owning up to 1 000 head of cattle. Muzenda dismissed this justification, arguing that investment by settlers does not legalise their occupation and that keeping 1 000 cattle on the land amounted to overstocking.