The lawyer, David Drury of Gollop and Blank law firm, claimed Nathan Shamuyarira, the Zanu (PF) secretary for information and publicity, was waiting in the wings to take over William Michael Campbell’s farm in Chegutu.
Drury represented Campbell during a Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal hearing in Windhoek, Namibia last month where he was challenging the seizure of his property by the government.
The SADC Tribunal last month ordered that President Robert Mugabe’s government to allow Campbell to stay at his farm pending the final determination of an appeal against the seizure of his property.
In an interview with ZimOnline this week, Drury said Shamuyarira had over the past few weeks visited the property and had placed his “representatives” at the property.
“Shamuyarira is the one who wants to take over occupation of the farm. He has been visiting the farm periodically and on ad-hoc occasions. His representatives have been camped at the farm,” said Drury.
Shamuyarira, regarded as among the few voices of reason within Zanu (PF), could not be reached for comment on the matter yesterday.
Mashonaland West province has since late last year been rocked by fresh farm invasions by senior government officials despite pleas by Vice-President Joseph Msika and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor Gideon Gono to halt the farm disturbances.
Several government ministers and senior army officials have over the past seven years seized former white-owned farms around the country in a move Mugabe said was necessary to correct historical imbalances in land allocation. – ZimOnline
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