Judgment in land row deferred
A CHITUNGWIZA court has postponed judgment in the matter involving a man seeking the eviction of a senior civil servant who works in the office of Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement Davison Marapira, who allegedly settled on his Beatrice plot.
Magistrate Mrs Sharon Rakafa will now deliver the sentence on July 17.
Hillary Shoko appeared before Mrs Rakafa accused of illegally settling on Mr Takura Rukwati’s Plot 8 of Dunnine Farm.
Mr Rukwati alleged that sometime in December last year, he heard from his farm manager, Mr Chester Dowani, that Shoko had brought onto the farm his workers to settle there, claiming that he was also the owner of the same plot.
Mr Rukwati has an offer letter from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement granted to him on November 8, 2016, and has been farming on the plot since then.
He alleged that since the day Shoko illegally settled on his farm, he has prevented his workers from carrying out their duties by threatening them that he represented “a very high office”.
Mr Rukwati said Shoko had gone further to carry out his illegal farming activities on the farm, disrupting his work.
In his defence, Shoko denied the allegations laid against him, saying he has been in occupation of the same piece of land since 2016, accusing Mr Rukwati of having settled at the farm last month.
He alleged that Mr Rukwati’s offer letter was fake and no one, including himself, had an offer letter until the dispute, which is pending at High Court, was finalised.
“The offer letter attached by the applicant is fake,” he alleged.
“No one, including myself, who is in occupation of the farm does have an offer letter until such a time the dispute of downsizing of the farm, which is pending at the High Court, is finalised.”