The ManicaPost
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
GOVERNMENT has issued a seven-day ultimatum for all illegal settlers in Gimboki to voluntarily vacate the area or risk the humiliation of being evicted, while those illegally parcelling out land using the President’s name will be arrested and prosecuted.
The Manica Post can reveal that some unruly elements in Mutare were name-dropping President Mnangagwa’s name to give credence to their illegal machinations to hoodwink and fleece unsuspecting home seekers, much to the chagrin of national authorities.
The strong-worded ultimatum was issued by the Permanent Secretary of Presidential Affairs in the Office of the President, Mr Tafadzwa Muguti, at a meeting with stakeholders and residents at Gimboki Clinic on Wednesday.
The salvo came hard on the heels of a video clip circulating on social media wherein the alleged chief architect of the illegal allocations of pieces of land in Gimboki, Binali Yard was allegedly captured urging those he had illegally allocated land to regroup and take up their offers.
Yard and four others — Brian Marange, Tawanda Ndawe, Webster Mudzimwa and Trust Matimba — have since been suspended from the ruling party Zanu PF for five years for their deviant conduct.
Mr Muguti said those who had erected structures in Gimboki must move out within seven days or risk the humiliation of being evicted.
“Land in this country is not allocated by the counting of footsteps as measurement of one’s residential stand. You can only get land when there are legal papers showing the beneficiary’s name.
“Even if we wanted to regularise the settlement, how do we do it when three people are settled on one piece of land, all of them claiming to have been allocated the same piece of land?
“We are giving you seven days to remove your illegal structures and vacate the area. Failure to do so, we will come and help you do that. We have laws in this country, and they should be respected,” he said.
Given that Yard’s recent video clip appears to be a violation of his court bail conditions, Mr Muguti called for his immediate arrest.
Yard, together with Marange, Ndawe, Mudzimwa and Matimba, were in December last year arrested by a team of detectives from the Criminal Investigations Department’s Police Anti-Corruption Unit and CID Homicide from Harare.
They allegedly contravened Section 24 (1) as read with Section 24 (4) of the Regional Town and Country Planning Act, Chapter 19:12 (Unlawful carrying out development without permission) or alternatively criminal trespass as defined in Section 132 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, (Chapter 9:23).
They were granted bail by Mutare High Court Judge, Justice Jester Charewa after spending the Christmas holiday in remand prison.
They were ordered to pay bail of US$200 each, continue to reside at their given addresses and not to interfere with investigations or witnesses until the matter is finalised.
The five were also barred from visiting Gimboki for the purposes of parcelling out land and to desist from any activities in that regard.
They were also ordered to report to the CID Law and Order, Mutare every Friday from 6am to 6pm.
Mr Muguti warned unruly elements against lying to the people using President Mnangagwa’s name.
“We are actually looking for them. We do not want people who take money from unsuspecting people lying that the President has said this and that. If it is not coming from the Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Advocate Misheck Mugadza who is the President’s eye and ear, then such lies are not coming from the President.
“Some of the people behind the illegal allocation of land think that they can get cover and protection by doling out land to law enforcement agents. This is not acceptable at all.
“As you might have read in the Press in recent weeks, Government has taken measures to deal with illegal land allocations. We have taken a decisive stance against land barons. The national leadership has sternly warned these land barons after they refused to listen to the leadership at district and provincial levels.
“As we speak, some of these people are not Zanu PF members. They are abusing the name of the party. In what capacity are they doing that?” he quipped.
Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Advocate Misheck Mugadza said it has been years since Mutare City Council availed serviced stands to the city’s residents.
“Mutare City Council will soon be availing serviced and affordable residential stands. It has been a while since they did that, resulting in high demand for stands from the residents.
“There is a group of residents in Gimboki who accepted to move out of the land that they had occupied, but was meant for social amenities. We will look into their issue with a view of allocating them alternative land in an orderly manner,” said Minister Mugadza.
Zanu PF Manicaland provincial chairman, Cde Tawanda Mukodza hailed the initiative by Government to restore order and sanity in Gimboki.
“We are grateful with the mature intervention by Government to address such problematic issues. It shows that we have a caring Government that prioritises the wellbeing and welfare of its citizens,” he said.
