Source: Storm over farm invasion | The Standard
Martin Grobler, whose Protea Valley Farm is situated about 40km east of Harare said Ivy Rupandi, a Lands ministry official, told him to move out of the property with immediate effect.
Grobler said Rupandi and one Chuma brought a truckload of police officers and a sheriff of the High Court before they moved his property from the farmhouse.
“Rupandi told me that she was now the new owner of the farm before they brought a lorry load of people and a sheriff of the court,” he said.
“These people told us to move out right away.”
More than 120 employees at the farm are now facing a bleak future, while more than 250 head of cattle has nowhere to be kept and several hectares of crops will be left unattended to.
On Friday, the government said it was investigating Grobler’s eviction.
The eviction came a few weeks after the government said it would allow some former farmers that lost their land during the violent land reform programme to return to their properties.
It said farmers whose farms were gazetted for compulsory acquisition, but remained on the farms would be given 99-year leases.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government also said it would start to pay farmers that lost their farms a total of US$3,5 billion in compensation for infrastructure.
The deal with the former farmers has been criticised by various organisations, which they say is meant to hoodwink the international community into believing that Zimbabwe was reforming.
Thousands of commercial farmers lost their farms during the often chaotic land reform programme spearheaded by the late Robert Mugabe’s administration.
The manner in which the land redistribution was conducted led to the collapse of Zimbabwe’s agro-based economy and the country’s international isolation.
COMMENTS
Whatever the circumstances of this farm, is it morally correct to force someone out of his farm just like that with such beautiful crops coming up, honestly, how can someone with conscience do such a thing. The invader has not paid a single cent for the farm, equipment, crops in the ground, cannot pay the farm workers who have been rendered jobless but has the audacity to force someone out, for what reason? Oh God help our country!!!!!
They always say the right things (or rather things we want to hear) but always do the wrong things becoz doing evil is their default mindset. Imagine; only last week their president (ED) was busy chastising chefs (as he called them) who go around grabbing productive farms, running them down & moving to next one. He also promised us that such behavior was now a thing of the past. Now this??? If ED was serious surely he should have swiftly acted against this official; since this could have amounted a direct challenge to his very-very recent public pronouncements. But alas! ED was only bluffing; & his subordinates know that whatever he says is just bluff. So, the grabbing & plunder continues unabated.
The African will always tell you what he thinks you want to hear in order to please you comrades. He often forgets to think for himself in his quest to please you – often the employer or a person of higher standing
Have a look at Galatians 6:7 in the Good Book. “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap”.
Ivy Rupandi, whoever she is, will never prosper on her stolen farm. She will end up broken and penniless like all the other thieves who stole farms that became deserted and barren.
And on a bigger scale our Zimbabwe is now reaping the wickedness that was sown during the endless corrupt years under Mugabe, and now his understudy Mnangagwa.
How can any dictator change. The first dictator Bob ordered his bandits to raid and now his sibling Mr Ed the second dictator simply is carrying out his late mentors will. These no brain comrades should never have been placed in any position of authority back then . This erroneous episode in our history has cost us all.