Online Reporter
Weekender Reporter
TAKING the law into his own hands by destroying a neighbour’s perimeter fence has landed a Makoni man with a US$500 compensation order and a fine of two goats at Chief Makoni’s community court.
Richard Gwenzi dragged his former workmate, Nicks Shinga, to court, accusing him of planting crops on his land and hiring thugs to tear down his fence in Village C, Nyahukwe.
Gwenzi said the fence, valued at US$500, was destroyed during the dispute.
“We share the same boundary at our fields, and Shinga planted maize on my plot. I fenced off my land, which also had his crops. He asked me to put a gate so he could access his maize. I suggested compensating him for the maize, and he agreed to harvest three buckets. But the next day, I was shocked to hear he had reported me to police, claiming I fired gunshots at his homestead,” Gwenzi told the court.
He further alleged that Shinga hired thugs to attack him.
“My wife saw him and the touts vandalising my fence. When she approached them, they threatened to beat her and ordered her not to take photos or videos. I was pained because she once helped him settle when he moved here,” said Gwenzi.
Shinga, however, denied ever ploughing in Gwenzi’s plot, and accused him of making threats.
“He has a habit of threatening to shoot me and my employees. We worked together at ZPCS, and I even helped him as a junior officer. I got my land in 2020. Last year, he claimed I had crossed the boundary and told my employee he could shoot us over it,” Shinga said.
He added that Gwenzi once told him: “Mudhara inotoita yeUkraine neRussia panapa” (this will be like Ukraine and Russia here), which he interpreted as a threat of war.
Shinga said villagers also confirmed Gwenzi’s habit of issuing threats.
The dispute escalated when Gwenzi allegedly claimed part of Shinga’s land, despite Shinga having planted pine trees there seven years earlier.
Shinga’s wife eventually suggested surrendering the contested land for peace, but Shinga said he would only vacate after harvesting his crops.
Shinga unwittingly admitted destroying the fence when he told the court that he contacted some offices in Harare which allegedly seconded people to destroy Gwenzi’s fence in his (Shinga) presence.
“When I was in Harare, my employees informed me that Gwenzi was digging holes in my field with crops. I went back to Nyahukwe and confronted Gwenzi who changed goalposts, and claimed that we never agreed that he will fence off after I had harvested. He offered to pay twice for the crops he had destructed. That night my dog got seriously ill, and the following morning we woke up to see one of my goat with stab wounds and intestine protruding out.
“I made some phone calls to some offices in Harare, and they deployed people to remove the fence. I was there when the fence was being removed, and I even advised these people not to cut the fence. There was a person by the name Delta among this group. I reported the case of Gwenzi making threats, and he also reported me for destroying his fence to the police,” he said.
The court found Shinga guilty of destroying Gwenzi’s fence, and ordered him to compensate his neigbhour with US$500 for the fence.
“People should not take the law into their own hands. Shinga told this court that he called his Harare people who brought people to destroy the fence. Shinga was there when the fence was destroyed by these people. It was clear that he was planting in Gwenzi’s field.
“This court has also put it into consideration that the parties were former workmates and are also neighbours. He is ordered to pay US$500 to Gwenzi for his fence. This judgement will only be put to effect only after both parties withdrew the police reports. The part that is not satisfied is free to proceed with the police case,” he said.
