KWEKWE - A High Court Judge has dismissed an application by a white commercial farmer in Kwekwe seeking a provisional order to evict two lawyers in that area who had been offered land at his Ranch.Justice Lawrence Kamocha dismissed Hermanis Gerhadus Grove’s application on the basis that he had lodged the present application at the Bulawayo High Court while the matter was pending at the Harare High Court. Justice Kamocha, who dismissed the application with costs, said Grove should pursue the earlier application to get the relief he is seeking. “The applicant knew that he had filed an earlier application seeking the same relief but nevertheless filed a second one on a certificate of urgency and did not end there but was also not candid with the court. The court must express its displeasure at such conduct by an award of punitive costs,” said Kamocha.
Grove, through his lawyer, M. Matshiya, approached the High Court on an urgent basis seeking a provisional order to evict Kwekwe lawyers, Mr Martin Makonese, a Mrs Marwisa and a Mr Chigariro who had been allocated land at his Inogo ranch. Grove wanted an order that, pending the finalisation of the application, the respondents acting personally or through their employees, family or agents be interdicted from entering Inogo Ranch.
He also wanted them to be interdicted from interfering with him, his family and workers’ occupation of the ranch and to stop threatening him, his family and workers with violence and not to interfere with his operations at the ranch and in particular disrupting farming activities. Grove is a farmer who purchased Inogo Ranch in 1990 which was then 1 600 hectares in extent. In 2001, the Government advertised the farm for acquisition.
In May 2002, Grove entered into an agreement with the government in terms of which he agreed to downsize the ranch with 1 100 hectares being taken over by the government for resettlement of A1 farmers. He remained with 500 hectares and the agreement was put in writing. Grove said that he remained in peaceful occupation of the farm from May 5 2002 until 2005 when the lands officer informed him that the 500 hectares that had been allocated to him had been acquired and allocated to Makonese and Marwisa.
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