Villagers granted reprieve against Mohadi’s son

Justice Kamocha ordered that the respondents immediately restore to the 1st applicant (Given Mbedzi) his peaceful and undisturbed possession of his plot by removing all their property and locks they installed on Mbedzi’s plot, Number 1 of Lot 9 Jopembe, Beitbridge and refrain from interfering with the gates, doors and fence on the plot.
The respondents are Campbell Trevor Mohadi, his mother Senator Tambudzani, Danisa Muleya and Samuel Sibanda.
The court further ordered the respondents to refrain from either themselves or through persons under their control, placing any cattle or other livestock on applicants’ plots or from in any way interfering with the farming operations carried out by the applicants or their employees on Plot 1,2,3 and 4 of Lot 9 Jopembe, Beitbridge.
Plot 2 belongs to Sorofia Ndou, 3 to Aifheli Nare and 4 to Kumbirai Ncube who are the 2nd, 3rd and 4th applicants.
The respondents are ordered at their expense to pull down the fence they erected illegally in the land under dispute and they should refrain from either themselves or through persons under their control beating up, threatening, harassing or in any way disturbing the peace of the applicants, their families or employees at their respective plots.
Members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police, Beitbridge, are authorised, empowered and directed to render all assistance necessary to the applicants to effect the order.
Justice Kamocha noted that in her submissions on behalf of the respondents, Ms Caroline Mudenda, of Mudenda Attorneys said her clients had been on the plots since 2009 and that when they took occupation, the plots were vacant.
“The suggestion that the plots were vacant sounds far fetched in the light of the land inspection report of 22 August 2007 whose findings were that first applicant was using the plot in a productive manner and the improvements he had effected to the plot were satisfactory.
“What is clear is that there is a land dispute between the parties who are all Zimbabweans, which needs to be resolved in a civilised manner. No party is allowed to take the law into its own hands and evict the other without due process of the law. It is common cause in this case that the respondents have evicted the applicants without any court order. This is forbidden in law and the court cannot condone it,” ruled Justice Kamocha.
He concluded that the parties in the case have a dispute over immovable property, which needs to be resolved in a lawful manner adding that the status quo ante has to be maintained until the dispute is resolved.
He further noted that the applicants have been in occupation of the disputed pieces of land and were evicted therefrom without due process of the law adding that they ought to be restored.
Mr Zibusiso Charles Ncube represented the applicants.
The applicants are part of the eight villagers staying on a farm in Beitbridge West, who have a long standing wrangle with Minister Mohadi over some plots adjacent to his farm and were arrested last year for malicious damage to property. They are accused of damaging a door belonging to Campbell Junior.
They have indicated through their lawyers that they are denying the charges and are arguing that the charges are an attempt to force them out of their plots.