Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Officials from the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture are allegedly sitting on important documents which has derailed the resolution to the ownership of Warwick Farm in Zvimba district, amid rising tension at the farm as residents and property developers clash.
The feud pitting beneficiaries of Zimbabwe’s land reform programme and a private company, Warwickshire (Pvt) Ltd, has reportedly been complex amid allegations of bribery over the last decade.
Reports of clandestine manoeuvres to own Warwick Farm, coupled by the authorities’ lackadaisical approach to resolve the ownership standoff, have intensified rivalry for land at the farm.
Land developers have descended on the property where beneficiaries of the land reform programme, mainly veterans of the liberation struggle, have stayed since taking over the farm in 2002.
NewsDay established that over the past two decades, settlers at Warwick Farm have been navigating government processes to get offer letters to the property, while businessman Nicholas Nyandoro is said to have secured rights to the same land.
A representative of Lakeshore 2000 Trust, an association for Warwick Farm residents, Ndabaningi Matinyenya, has been arrested several times for allegedly exposing the farm ownership rot.
As part of his bail conditions, Matinyenya was not allowed to interfere with investigations.
However, some residents said they had hopped from one government office to another to no avail.
They said in 2022, they approached Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, who engaged the Lands ministry on the issue.
A letter dated November 30, 2022, from Chiwenga’s office addressed to the then secretary in the lands ministry John Basera and acknowledged to have been received by a director in the ministry Dr Mapfumo on January 17, 2023, revealed Chiwenga’s discontent over the handling of the Warwick Farm land dispute by the Lands ministry.
“Colleague secretary, I am unhappy to inform your good office that the Office of Vice-President Honourable General (Retired) DR C G D N Chiwenga is seized with some outstanding cases relating to unresolved land disputes variously submitted by individuals and some institutions,” read part of the letter.
“It is also the conviction of this office that some of the submissions were copied to your office for consideration and action. Under the aforementioned, may you kindly provide this office with updates relating to the following outstanding land disputes, some of which have been unresolved for quite some time?
“Warwick Farm land dispute has been raging on since the year 2000. The necessary reference documents are hereby attached to this letter for your ease of reference.”
Warwick Farm residents said the Lands ministry was yet to resolve the land wrangle.
“We have been to their offices on numerous occasions and we have moved from one office to another. All those who have been vocal on the issue are threatened with evictions or are arrested,” one of the residents told NewsDay on condition of anonymity.
Land and Agriculture secretary Obert Jiri said he was not aware of Chiwenga’s letter.
“I need to have the correct facts from the paperwork. I cannot make a comment based on your writing,” he said.
Mapfumo did not respond to inquiries from NewsDay.
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