High Court orders Madzongwe to vacate grabbed farm

By Henry Makiwa
1 November 2007

The High Court on Wednesday ordered a high-ranking official of the Mugabe regime to vacate a farm she had grabbed from a white commercial farmer.

Senate President Edna Madzongwe, who already has two other farms, was told to vacate a farm in Chegutu she had occupied before the owner Richard Etheridge was evicted through a legal process. The latest development has been greeted by some as a possible sign of a shift in government policy from its chaotic land reform process.

Etheridge’s lawyer, David Drury, described the ruling as the “mirror of the country’s laws”.

He said: “There has been massive political influence in the case given Madzongwe’s status. She had clearly taken the law into her own hands, which is disturbing given that she is a lawmaker and legislator herself.
Our consolation is that the laws of the country seem to have taken course now.”

Etheridge owns Stockdale Farm in Chegutu and shares it with black farmers after it was partitioned by government.

Madzongwe moved on to the farm forcing Etheridge to seek legal recourse. He obtained a provisional order blocking her from occupying the farm, pending a determination of the case in the High Court. But later Madzongwe moved in, despite the court order.