Court bars governor from evicting villagers

the sale and subdivision of land occupied by 19 villagers from the resettlement area.
The Governor has 10 days to challenge the order in terms of the law. If he fails to do so within the stipulated period, the court will proceed to confirm the order.
Justice Mathonsi also ordered the Gover­nor to allow displaced villagers to return to the pieces of land and not to interfere with their well-being.
Governor Machaya is embroiled in a land dispute with some villagers in Zvishavane.
This prompted the villagers to approach the court seeking an urgent order to bar the Governor from evicting them from the reset­tlement area.
The villagers cited Governor Machaya, Land Reform and Resettlement Minister Herbert Murerwa, the Midlands provincial administrator, Zvishavane district adminis­trator and Chief Masunda as the respondents.
In their court papers, the villagers, who were represented by Mr Norman Mugiya of Mupindu and Mugiya law firm, allege that on October 11 this year, Governor Machaya besieged Mabhula Resettlement Scheme in a convoy of vehicles.
He was in the company of a group of peo­ple and they force-marched the villagers to an assembly point.
The group threatened to burn the villagers’ houses if they did not vacate the land in 48 hours. It is alleged that the villagers were told that the Governor would provide transport to ferry them and their belongings to a farm in Shurugwi.
“They were told (by the Governor) that there is no compensation for their structures and they were ordered to sell their beasts so that they could have money to construct new homes at their new sites,” reads part of the court papers.
The villagers argued that they were reset­tled by Government under Section 6 of the Rural Land Act in 1983.
It is further alleged that Governor Machaya was in the company of buyers who were offering to buy the villagers’ livestock.
The villagers further allege that the Gover­nor had instructed a private developer to sub­divide the land for residential purposes with a stand being sold for US$0,50 per square metre. This, the villagers allege, was done without their knowledge.
“The applicants discovered it (the taking of the land) after they noticed some earth mov­ing machines and some adverts placed in Zvishavane town advising of the sale of their land,” the court papers further state.
Governor Machaya is denying the allega­tions saying he had applied for the land through the office of the Rural and Urban Development Minister and was yet to get a response.
“It is not correct that the land in question has been subdivided into residential stands and being sold for US$3 000 by the first defendant (Governor Machaya), nor is it cor­rect that first defendant sold the land to pri­vate entity or person at rate of US$0,50 per square metre as alleged by plaintiff,” said the Governor in his opposing papers.