Land grabbing exercise spills into urban areas

By Lance Guma
30 January 2006

The controversial policy of seizing white owned farms in Zimbabwe is now spreading to white owned properties in urban areas. Gletwyn Estate, incorporated under the City of Harare, has now been grabbed by police who first invaded the area in December last year. The police say they want to build houses for their officers but observers say the manner of the acquisition remains outside the law. Over 200 hundred farm workers have been forced off the estate. Most have been bundled into police trucks and dumped in various parts of the country. With operations at the farm having ground to a halt the welfare of farm workers remains critical with many facing destitution.

The police have grabbed a section of the estate owned by Ian Ross while Divine Homes, owned by a government minister, is selling stands on a part of the property owned by Stuart Ross. Deputy Minister of Finance David Chapfika is listed as Chairman of the company which is already marketing 600 stands on the estate. The company claims Gletwyn is public property because it is a white owned farm. Property owners Ian and Stuart Ross are expected to take the issue to court, despite slim chances of success given government intransigence towards court orders.

Speaking from South Africa Stuart Ross said they are currently informing influential figures in the diplomatic community on developments on the estate. They will soon be approaching the courts if no amicable agreement is reached. He urged prospective home owners not to be duped into buying stands on the area as the legal dispute could threaten their home ownership in the future. He criticised government double standards in terms of their policy on the grabbing of farms. While Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono is calling for an end to farm invasions, government officials are doing the opposite and putting ‘their snouts in the trough’.