John Chirisi and thousands of other Zanu (PF) supporters invaded hundreds of white-owned commercial farms under the guise of repossessing their land in the early 2000s. They were confident in the knowledge that they had the full blessing of President Robert Mugabe.
Chirisi spoke out this week about the many sacrifices made by land invaders. These included sleeping in the bush and risking being attacked by snakes and wild animals. Others had to commit acts of violence, including murder, as a way of forcing the white farmers and their workers off the properties.
“Different criminal activities marred the chaotic land reform programme and perpetrators like myself had to make huge sacrifices,” he said. For some this has paid handsome dividends as they are now proud owners of huge farms.
But for others like Chirisi the dream has turned to ashes. They have been left homeless – their houses burnt to ashes by the police because they refused to vacate the properties that have now been taken over by their fellow black men with strong links to Mugabe and his party.
Punished
Chirisi and dozens of people evicted from farms in Masvingo east feel abandoned and even punished by the party they have supported for so many years – and by their president himself, whom they have long idolised.
Chirisi and his family now live along the Masvingo-Mutare highway as they have nowhere else to go because they have been occupying the area for the past 10 years. Others are living in the nearby mountains. “We made such sacrifices with the intention of genuinely repossessing our land as the president and the government told us to do. We believed we were supporting our party and our president,” said Chirisi.
“Remember had it not been the land reform programme Zanu (PF) and Mugabe would have been history by now. That is one of the things that kept Mugabe in power until this day. But I am regretting supporting Zanu (PF) because now I am being punished for my support,” he added.
“How do you remove a person from a farm in order to pave way for your friends and relatives? That is what is happening and it is nepotism at its best. Now I am a squatter and have nowhere to go because of Mugabe and his friends. My children have dropped out of school and life is now miserable because I tried to repossess my land with others. The only solution to stop this rot is to vote Mugabe and his party out of power because he has neglected us who were supporting him,” said Chirisi.
A crime
“I have come to realise that it is crime to vote for Zanu (PF) – you might be punished for giving your vote and support to the party,” he added.
Zanu (PF) Masvingo provincial chairlady Shylet Uyoyo has also questioned the logic behind the unleashing of police dogs on hapless farm invaders.
Uyoyo, who has refused to quit her post after being ordered to do so by Grace Mugabe, said it was counter revolutionary to unleash dogs on people who need land.
“We become surprised when we see police officers descending on us with dogs and guns and yet we are saying we have no land,” said Uyoyo. “Are we being punished for supporting our party’s land reform programme? Many people, especially women, did not benefit from the land reform programme hence they are invading farms in order to get their share. For those few women who were lucky to get land we have seen double allocation of properties and most of them end up being pushed out of their farms in the event of their husbands dying,” she added.
Riot police
At least 1,000 people are still homeless after riot police destroyed their settlements accusing them of illegally staying on farms in Masvingo east farming area that were now claimed to belong to blacks.
Police in riot gear descended on Ganyani, Selmore and Penhest farms among others where they have maintained a vigil over the past three weeks, making sure that they evict all the villagers who have been on the properties since the start of the land redistribution programme.
Some of the villagers ran for dear life as the police chased them away accusing them of ignoring several court orders to move off the land. They say the police gave them just a few minutes to pack their belongings and go back to their original homes.
We voted
The law enforcement agents allegedly physically destroyed their settlements and threatened to arrest them if they came back into the area. It is understood that the farms were allocated to senior civil servants and politicians linked to Mugabe and his ruling Zanu (PF) party.
Albert Chiroso, a spokesman for the villagers who has remained camped in one of the nearby mountains, said some of the affected people had small children as young as two years old and were now living in the open.
“We did not know that the Zanu (PF) government would treat us like this,” said the visibly angry Chiroso. “We occupied this area during the height of farm invasions and all along we were living a good life as peasant farmers. We also voted for Zanu (PF) during the 31 July elections. But soon after the polls we were ordered to leave this area. The reason given was that the farms on which we lived had been given to blacks and we wonder if we are also not blacks, he said.
According to the villagers at least 100 children have since dropped out of school because of the evictions.
Masvingo police provisional spokesman Inspector Charity Mazula confirmed the evictions but refused to give details. “The evictions are ongoing on people who are illegally occupying land,” she said.
“As you are aware we have been instructed to evict all people currently occupying black owned farms,” said the local provincial administrator Felix Chikovo. “We gave the affected families notices and they were just ignoring them until we invited the law enforcement agents to effect the evictions. These people should have moved out long back but we gave them time to harvest their crops and thereafter leave.”
Government sources said at least 3,000 people in Masvingo province alone need to be evicted as they were “illegally” occupying farms and wildlife sanctuaries.
Post published in: News