via Centenary farmer dragged to court – NewsDay Zimbabwe October 31, 2015
Government has been sucked into the row over a 100-hectare tobacco farm in Centenary where British doctor, Sylvester Nyatsuro, is allegedly fighting to forcibly eject its white owner, Philip Rankin.
BY RICHARD CHIDZA
Rankin yesterday said government has since reopened a 2007 case in which he was accused of refusing to vacate a designated farm.
“I have been asked to appear in court and I am waiting for the magistrate as we speak. Nobody had been allocated the farm, it is the government that wants it I suppose now. I was remanded to November 17,” Rankin said in a telephone interview yesterday.
“I am not a politician, my name has been on a map with the ministry and I have no idea what that means. I just want to be left in peace to farm.”
Nyatsuro is reportedly a close relative of President Robert Mugabe’s family and has been allegedly using his connections to have Rankin ejected.
The medical practitioner has admitted he is related to Mugabe, but claims he had in no way used his connections to secure the farm.
Rankin’s lawyer Nyaradzo Maphosa of Sawyer and Mkushi confirmed her client had been issued with summons to appear in court.
“We only have summons and he is said to have contravened section 3 subsection 2 (a) of the Gazetted Land (consequential provisions) Act Chapter 20:28 that relates to refusing to vacate gazetted land. The summons make reference to a 2007 case,” Maphosa said.
Rankin seemed to have survived the mayhem that has wrecked the country’s agriculture and seen thousands of white farmers giving up their land, until Nyatsuro suddenly pitched up and demanded that the tobacco farmer leaves.
Rankin claimed his farm was initially listed for compulsory acquisition in 2000 before it was delisted until 2007.
The farmer was for almost two weeks holed up in his homestead after Nyatsuro’s agents refused to let him out. They had reportedly changed all locks to the farm’s gates.
Nyatsuro was in the country last month to promote his Zimbabwe Diaspora Skills Network through which Zimbabwean professionals abroad can help in the recovery of the country through skills-sharing with public and private institutions back home.
Rankin’s troubles come at a time when there seems to have been a thawing of relations between Mugabe’s administration and the remaining white farmers.
Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa was guest of honour at the Commercial Farmers’ Union congress early this week and called for concerted efforts to return Zimbabwe to its position as the breadbasket of Africa.
COMMENTS
Am I missing something here?? A farmer grows food to feed a nation where ever he maybe on the planet, countries with good farmers have high obesity rates, countries with poor farmers have multitudes of skinny hungry peasants. Admittedly Rankin is a tobacco farmer but I’m sure he also produces a bit of grub and tobacco indirectly pays for the importation of food.
This Dr Rampant Rabbit is a weight loss specialist, now I see a lot of obesity in the ruling elite but I also see lots of skinny peasants in the country side. Perhaps the elite believe that by handing over farms to weight loss specialists it may resolve their obesity issue falsely believing Zim is an obese nation. It makes perfect sense in a deranged warped mind that in order to diet we must halt the production of anything meaningful to eat.
Dr Rampant Rabbit need not open a clinic which requires work if the nation look like walking skeletons, he has achieved his goal without lifting a finger. Pure genius !!!!!
I hope those Zimbabweans in the |UK stay camped out in front of the Dr.’s offices, he needs to be evicted from the UK and his properties there given to the farmer in exchange of the farm he is trying to steal.
Eviction to Zimbabwe..? No thank you we do not need him here, so that he can do more damage than he is doing and disgracing all hardworking zimbabweans in and outside zim.You gave him the British passport, he his now your criminal so deal with him by yourselves.please.
I think the exchange idea is inspired, when Rankin is evicted, the good Dr should also be, fair swap…he should also get the weight loss business so he has some earnings.
So… our land IS going back to the British!!!
It starts as a tricle and will become a flood you can not stop. The Neo British are worse than the original, this time round they dont just want the whole land they want every natural resource in the country for themselves. And dont forget That Sir Robert Gabrial Mugabe is a knigth Of the royal british empire, apointed personally by Queen Elisabeth 2, and the highest award she can give to any british citizern who was not naturally born into the royal family.
Black BRITIIISH // TO BOOT//