Villagers here were up in arms against Nhau who has basically swapped his religious and pastoral regalia for a Zanu (PF) sword. He claims to be a war veteran and has grabbed communal livestock grazing fields and turned them into his farming plot.
A road passing through the seized land has since been turned into a maize field causing anger among villagers who use the road to access their homesteads or visit each other. They are now cut off from the main road. Those ferrying farm produce on scotch-carts to the main road to access transport to town markets, can no longer do so as Nhau has ploughed up the road with a tractor-drawn plough.
Life has become a nightmare for villagers following coming of the ZAOGA pastor in the area recently. Not typical of a man of the cloth, Nhau, told concerned and helpless villagers to go to hell if they could not do without the road, said a visibly concerned elderly villager, Cleopas Muzunze.
The local traditional leadership has failed to stop him from turning the road into farmland, as he claimed he was bestowed with powers from high offices.
Muzunze said villagers were not surprised by Nhaus behaviour as Zanu (PF) was using church leadership to further its political agenda. The pastor is brother to a notorious village 14 Zanu (PF) headman, Nhau Senior, who was at the centre of political violence unleashed by the former ruling party against suspected MDC supporters in the area June 2008.
Meanwhile, the invasion of grazing fields by Zanu (PF) thugs in Chief Svosve area has disrupted cattle farming activities by villagers. Since livestock no longer have grazing pastures, desperate villagers were forced to sell them off at give away prices. This has impacted negatively on the welfare of struggling villagers, who relied on their cattle for draught power and meat at traditional rituals. Beasts, which cost $400 before pastures were grabbed by Nhau and colleagues, were now fetching as little as $150.
Post published in: News