MP gets illegal settlers temporary relief from forced eviction

The Member of Parliament for Gwanda North Madodana Sibanda is reported to have intervene in the case between villagers of Matshetshe Communal Lands in Gwanda and people who illegally settled themselves in land previous set aside as their grazing land.

A fortnight ago the villagers from Matshetshe approached the illegal settlers who are settled in the grazing area and gave them a seven day ultimatum to leave the area. The seven days expired on Friday at midnight and action was expected on Saturday 19th October.

Contacted for a comment the villagers who still insist on remaining anonymous indicated that they did not carry out the evictions as per the request of the local MP Madodana Sibanda of ZANU PF.

It is reported that Sibanda asked the villagers to hold on to their action until this Saturday where he will try and bring the two warring factions together at his victory celebration party scheduled to be held at Nkashe one of the disgruntled villages.

It is however not clear how the MP hopes to solve the matter particularly noting that the settlers have long been declared illegal by both the police and the Gwanda District Land Committee.

One very angry villager indicated that he did not personally agree with the "leadership" that agreed to halt the eviction process.

According to him there is no room for any more negotiations the settlers have been declared illegal many times before and they have been resisting a lawful order to leave and accused them of taking advantage of their being members of ZANU PF.

"I really don't know what Madodana hopes to achieve by trying to ask us to negotiate with these people. They must just go their seven days is up and they must be out. If they think that because they belong to ZANU PF then they can take the law into their own hands, we want to show them that we also have hands to take the law into." Said the visibly angry villager.

Another villager from Masholomoshe Village accuses Madodana Sibanda of trying to entice people to his victory celebration party by dangling the land issue in front of the party.

"We know he just wants us to come there and have ZBC TV record us as having come for his party in large numbers then tell us that we must leave the issue with him. We are grown ups and we know ZANU very well, this Madodana is too young in politics to play around with us. We will embarass him if he takes us for granted. He must remember that Matshetshe did not vote for his party, not at all and so cannot come and drag us into his party's politics. They brought the people here to get votes, elections are over they must start moving we want to feed our cattle" said the villager apparently wearing a ZANU PF cap.

Contacted for a comment, the MP Hon Sibanda declined to comment and said the land under dispute does not fall under his jurisdiction but under Gwanda Central and referred the reporter to the MP for Gwanda Central Edson Gumbo. Gumbo could however not be reached for comment as his mobile phone went unanswered.

The land has been a huge born of contention between the villagers and the settlers most of whom relocated to the area from the perennially dry areas of Mberengwa. The villagers have traditionally been using the land as their grazing land and they now claim not to have any grazing land leading to huge loss of livestock due to starvation.

The villagers claim that the settlers charge them a beast for every five cattle that must be brought in to graze in the area for an unspecified period.

This arrangement has not gone down well with the villagers who have over the years grazed their livestock there and are adamant they will drive the settlers out.

A snap survey showed that some of the settlers hided to the call to leave as a few tents were seen being pulled down or already down.

Non of the settlers on site were willing to comment on the issue with one of them actually threatening violence to the reporters.