Inferno razes judge’s farm
BULAWAYO High Court judge Justice Maxwell Takuva was recently taken ill with hypertension ( blood pressure) after his Sub-Division 5 Ally Slopter Farm on the outskirts of Gweru caught fire resulting in him losing property running into thousands of dollars.
Police in Gweru were still investigating the cause of the fire which razed through the judge’s farm and homestead along the Gweru-Matobo Road last Tuesday.
Police said they were eager to interview workers from the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development who were working on the road near the farm when the fire started.
“We are i nvestigating t he matter and information gath- ered at the moment is that some workers from the Department of Roads, who were maintaining the Gweru-Matobo highway where the farm is located, could have started the fire while preparing food.
“They did not put out the fire after preparing their food and the same f ire is suspected to have later spread into the judge’s farm,” said a police source close to the investigations.
The police source said the farm employees alerted them of the fire, but could not immediately speak to Justice Takuva, who was on bed rest after BP got the better of him following the incident.
Justice Takuva confirmed having fallen ill after the incident yesterday.
He said he was now up and about after rains that fell some days after his farm was burnt brought back joy to him.
He said the fire had destroyed his fowl run, thatch and stockfeed which he was keeping at his homestead.
“I have over a hundred head so there was a lot of stockfeed at the homestead which I had bought that went up in smoke. I had also bought some thatch for my fowl runs and gazebo which was also destroyed in the veld fire.
“However, what affected me most was the loss of my stockfeed because I could not imagine buying more stockfeed to feed the more than a hundred head. But thanks to God, some few days after the incident occurred, rains fell and at least my cattle now have pastures,” he said.
Justice Takuva said he was mulling suing the culprits for the loss.