Soldiers block High Court eviction in Mazowe farm standoff

An attempted High Court eviction at a disputed farm in Mazowe was brought to a halt after two army colonels allegedly blocked the Sheriff of the High Court from carrying out a court order, leading to an hours-long standoff involving armed soldiers.

The land in question, Ingleborough Farm, has been the subject of a prolonged legal and administrative dispute involving multiple parties, including resettled farmers and the military.

According to court documents, the Sheriff was acting on a March 13 High Court order directing the eviction of occupants when the operation was disrupted by the arrival of Colonel Ncube and Colonel Malamba, who allegedly arrived with uniformed soldiers and blocked enforcement.

The Sheriff reported that execution of the order could not proceed after the officers ordered the suspension of the eviction, allegedly threatening violence while armed personnel sealed off access roads.

"Execution could not proceed as the Sheriff was coerced to suspend execution… they threatened violence as they were armed," the report stated, adding that the Sheriff was only allowed to leave after returning removed household goods to the property.

A witness said the eviction team had already loaded belongings onto trucks and moved a short distance toward the Bindura - Mazowe Road when the military officers intercepted the convoy and ordered the goods returned.

The dispute involves resettled farmers Tryness Kabiti and Wonder Mukwaira, who have been locked in a long-running legal battle with individuals linked to the military over access to portions of the 603-hectare farm.

The land itself has been subject to shifting allocations. Kabiti was initially offered part of the farm in 2010 under the land reform programme, while Mukwaira received an allocation in 2013. However, in 2017, the Ministry of Lands later assigned the entire property to the Zimbabwe Defence Forces for institutional agricultural use.

The matter escalated after Lands Minister Anxious Masuka sought to withdraw earlier offer letters, arguing the land was required for public purposes.

Kabiti challenged the decision through the courts, eventually taking the matter to the Supreme Court, where a bench ordered the minister to provide written reasons for the withdrawal. When no response was filed within the stipulated timeframe, the court ruling effectively stood in favour of setting aside the withdrawal.

Despite the ruling and subsequent eviction orders, enforcement has repeatedly stalled due to resistance on the ground, culminating in the March 13 order that triggered the latest confrontation.

Police have since opened a case following a report filed under RRB67991/3, while the affected parties have indicated plans to pursue urgent legal steps to enforce the eviction order.

The standoff highlights ongoing tensions surrounding contested land allocations in Zimbabwe, particularly where civilian and military interests intersect.