64 families evicted
AT least 64 villagers from Dete in Hwange District have been ordered to vacate two farms belonging to the Roman Catholic Church after the High Court ruled that they were illegally occupying the church properties.
The two farms are part of Marist Brothers Secondary School, which is run by the church. Bulawayo High Court Judge Justice Nicholas Mathonsi, on Thursday gave the villagers 48 hours to vacate the two farms commonly known as Nazareth Ranch.
He also ordered the officer commanding police Matabeleland North Province to demolish all structures erected by the villagers.
The Roman Catholic Church would, however, need to secure a writ of eviction from the same court before it can drive the villagers out of the two farms. At the time of going to press, the church was yet to secure the injunction. The church had been locked in a protracted wrangle with the villagers for the past 10 years as the settlers had been resisting eviction.
Through its lawyers, Webb, Low and Barry, the church filed a court application in January this year seeking an order compelling the villagers to move out of the properties.
Justice Mathonsi ruled in the church’s favour noting that the church, as the owner of the farm, had a vindicatory right to the property against the villagers.
“The action rei vindicatio is available to the owner whose property is in the possession of another without his or her authority or consent. It’s the concept that the owner cannot be deprived of his or her property against his will. Clearly the applicant’s right of ownership and indeed vindication is unassailable . . . ,” noted the judge.
Justice Mathonsi dismissed the villagers’ defence which relied on Section 74 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
The section provides that, “No person may be evicted from their home, or have their home demolished, without an order of court made after considering all the circumstances.”
Through their lawyers, Sansole and Senda Legal Practitioners, the villagers contended that they could not vacate the properties as they had no alternative accommodation. Justice Mathonsi noted that the church had no obligation to provide housing or alternative accommodation and that the applicant was protected by the law against illegal occupation of its land.
Initially the villagers had opposed the eviction on the basis that they were authorised to occupy the farm by the late Headman Bitu after he had been given the land by Brother Mariso of the Roman Catholic Church who was then stationed at Marist Secondary School.
The church’s Hwange Diocese Bishop, Father Joseph Albert Serrano Anton, in his founding affidavit, said the church resorted to evicting the villagers led by Mr Micmas Sibanda to pave way for the construction of Advanced Level classroom blocks at Marist Brothers School.
Father Anton said the disputed farms known as Remainder of Railway Farm 43 and Nazareth Ranch in Dete were purchased by the church in 1966 and in 1977 with the intention of moving St Mary’s Mission Secondary School, the Seminary and the Sister’s Convent, to the acquired property. He said the church enjoyed peaceful occupation of the farms until 2006 when the villagers led by Sibanda occupied the properties claiming to have been authorised by the late local headman Andrew Bitu.
“Since 2006, I have been attempting to evict the respondents through peaceful measures and negotiations by the VicarGeneral, Father Marko Rumuma and the priests but
they refused to vacate the farms and instead chose to approach the district lands officer,” said Father Anton.
In October 2013, the church through the Speaker of the National Assembly, Advocate Jacob Mudenda, wrote a letter to President Mugabe in which he recommended that the villagers be persuaded to vacate the farms peacefully by June 2014.
According to the letter, Adv Mudenda also recommended that the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement and the Office of Minister of State for Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs assist the villagers to relocate in terms of the Government’s Resettlement Policy and Procedure.
The recommendations by Adv Mudenda were adopted and the villagers were allowed to remain on the farm until July 2014.
However, the villagers still refused to vacate the properties at the end of the set period. The villagers shall pay the legal costs of the matter.