The ManicaPost
Lovemore Kadzura
Rusape Correspondent
A MAKONI villager learnt it the hard way not to trust anyone after he was made to construct a three-roomed house, only to be rewarded with a 50kg bag of fertiliser.
Initially, Never Chikosha of Headlands had entered into a barter trade agreement with his neighbour, Godfrey Mukucha, who had promised to offer him tillage services for the job.
However, Mukucha allegedly reneged on his side of the bargain, forcing a distraught Chikosha to drag him to Chief Makoni’s community court last week, demanding US$450 for the construction work.
Chikosha told the court that he built the house with the assistance of his wife, and only discovered on completion that Mukucha had no cattle to offer him, then promised draught power.
The cattle kept at his homestead belonged to his Harare-based brothers.
“He approached me last year for my services as a builder. He said he did not have money to pay me and I suggested to him that I could build the house for him in exchange for tillage services.
“We agreed that he would till all my fields in return.
“I built and roofed the house with the assistance of my wife. At the beginning of the 2023/24 farming season, I approached Mukucha and asked him to till my fields. He argued that he wanted some spare parts for the plough which I provided.
“He later gave me the cattle and after tilling a few lines, he sent his son with an instruction that I should return the yoked cattle since it was already afternoon.
“Efforts to have him release the cattle were in vain as he kept giving flimsy excuses. My wife also made several follow-ups, and was given a 50kg bag of fertiliser instead. I later learnt that he is not the owner of the cattle.
“They belong to his brothers who were present during the farming season, and hence he was finding it difficult to release them to till my fields.
“When I was building the house, a number of villagers warned me that Mukucha was not an honest person when it came to paying for services rendered.
“I brushed them off thinking that he would respect me as an elder and honour our agreement.
“I have learnt the hard way that he cannot be trusted, and I now want him to pay me US$450 for the construction of his house,” he told the court.
However, Mukucha denied owing Chikosha anything.
He told the court that Mukucha did not complete building the house and had paid him for the work done.
“I informed him not to come to my homestead to collect the beasts because there were some outstanding issues to be resolved.
“Instead, he forcibly came and took my ox-drawn cart which was damaged when he was using it.
“I incurred expenses to repair it. I also gave him a 50kg bag of fertiliser as part of the payment.
“His wife reported for work for a few days before I took over as his building assistant. I also carried some of his harvested tobacco from the fields to the curing barns, so I don’t owe him anything,” he told the court.
In its ruling, the court noted that there were no written agreements and witnesses to support the parties’ contradicting assertions, and dismissed the case.
“There are no written agreements to show who is right or wrong. When entering into big contracts people must sign contracts.
“Now the court’s hands are tied in that there was no binding agreement between the two of you. Next time when you are engaged to work for someone, demand a written contract. The case is dismissed due to lack of evidence,” ruled Chief Makoni.
