Online Reporter
Spiwe Sarakunze
Herald Reporter
A HARARE family has successfully applied for a protection order against its neighbour, who allegedly used violence, threats and masterminded brutal attacks to force them off a farm they have occupied for 25 years.
The allegations were made by Mr Kairema Justine and his daughter, Betty, against Mr Peter Bangajena when they appeared before the Harare Civil Court.
“He wants to force us off our farm by any means. My family has been terrorised by this man to the extent that we do not have any hope of seeing the next day,” Mr Justine said.
Mr Justine and his daughter told Magistrate Ashton Dube that for 25 years, he had lived peacefully on the property, farming and raising his family without interference or disputes.
They said everything changed when Bangajena allegedly began showing interest in taking over the land.
According to their testimony, Bangajena did not approach the matter through dialogue or legal processes, but instead embarked on what they described as a violent eviction campaign.
They claimed that Bangajena regularly brought groups of men to their homestead to intimidate, assault and forcibly push them off the land.
One of the most shocking allegations was that Bangajena burnt Justine’s foot, leaving him severely injured and unable to walk for weeks.
“He burnt my foot. Since that day, I have been struggling to walk properly,” Justine told the court.
She said the violent attack was carried out in broad daylight, and since then, the gang allegedly sent by Bangajena had returned multiple times, with each visit escalating the tension.
“Bangajena and his gang came at night, shouting, assaulting, and threatening my family and me,” Justine said.
Betty seconded her father’s claim that the harassment did not follow any pattern or schedule, making life unbearable for the family.
“Sometimes they destroy property or try to drag my father out of the house. They storm the homestead at unexpected hours. I have suffered enough. Bangajena harasses me all the time,” she said.
Betty said the harassment has drained them emotionally and physically, and they no longer feel safe staying at the farm.
“We just want peace and for the court to stop him from coming near us,” she said.
He pleaded with the court to intervene before the situation escalates into something even more tragic.
In response, Bangajena vehemently denied every allegation. He insisted that he had no reason to assault anyone, had never attacked Justine, and had no connection to any group of violent men.
Instead, he said he was being unfairly blamed for criminal activities he had nothing to do with.
“That gang is abusing me, too. I am not part of it,” Bangajena told the court.
He claimed that the complainants had created a false narrative to paint him as the mastermind behind the violence, when in fact he was just another resident living under threat from the same group..
He suggested that the family was using him as a scapegoat to strengthen their case for a protection order.
A protection order was granted in their favour, barring Bangajena from visiting their homestead or interfering with their land.
The magistrate also noted that the issue of land rights may need separate legal examination, but the immediate concern was the safety and well-being of the complainants.
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