Gutsaruzhinji villagers feel neglected

MASVINGO Centre for Research Advocacy and Development ( Macrad) handed out food hampers to 52 homeless Gutsaruzhinji families in Chiredzi North.

Livestock, houses and food were burnt during the ongoing land conflict in Nyangambe. Since July 11 2020, the families are crowded under a tree with nowhere to go.

The Nyangambe family is accusing Gutsaruzhinji residents of occupying its land reserved for grazing.

The evictees have spent more than four months sleeping in the open and they are surviving on sugarcane from Mkwasine Estate.

The evicted families do not have savings, while many had already lost their sources of livelihood due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Macrad has since referred the matter to the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs ministry and the Land Commission.

Currently, the families do not have access to health and educational facilities.

Three women have already given birth on their own without accessing a health centre.

The Nyangambe villagers are breaching a High Court order, which stops them from farming on the land. Gustaruzhinji villagers reported the matter to Mkwasine Police Station, but the police said they did not have manpower and fuel to attend the matter.

The Gutsaruzhinji villagers feel that the police are neglecting them and are biased in favour of their Nyangambe counterparts since the beginning of the conflict.

It seems State institutions responsible for solving land disputes have a no capacity to deal with the matter.

Macrad feels that there is a hidden political hand in the dispute.

Such land disputes have an effect on rural socio- economic development.

These disputes have disastrous consequences on the livelihoods of the communities. Access to land for rural communities is very important for poverty reduction, economic growth and empowerment.

Relevant stakeholders should come together as a matter of urgency and resolve this dispute as it might degenerate into a bigger conflict.