War veteran takes army officers to court

One of the indigenous farmers, a war veteran, allocated land 13 years ago at Ingleborough Farm in Mazowe, 40km northwest of Harare, now occupied by settlers backed by senior army officers has filed an urgent chamber application for a prohibitory interdict against soldiers who recently blocked eviction of the invaders.

The case will be heard at the High Court in Harare tomorrow.

Tryness Kabiti, and another farmer Wonder Mukwaira, all of them coming from war veterans families – is battling soldiers who are defending a group of illegal settlers on her farm holding at Ingleborough Farm in Mazowe, Mashonaland Central province.

Kabiti went to the High Court after soldiers blocked eviction of the invaders on April 9 through threatening and violent means.She holds a valid offer letter for the land.

The offer letter was confirmed on September 12, 2024 as valid by the High Court under Case No. R-HCH4996/22, entitling her to evict the illegal settlers thereat.

The respondents in the case are:Lieutenant-Colonel Ncube, Lieutenant-Colonel Malamba, Zimbabwe Defence Forces director for Agriculture, Chirwahemhuka, a Zimbabwe National Army officer, an unnamed Zimbabwe National Army commander, Zimbabwe Republic Police Marlborough Officer-In-Charge, and Sheriff (Bindura).

When Kabiti engaged the sheriff and the police for the execution of the court order so as regain vacant possession of her plot of land, Ncube and Chirwahemhuka who were armed and in army uniforms, acting through their foot soldiers, “unlawfully intervened against the process and forced the return of the evicted settlers and the 3/33 household goods.”

They also simultaneously kept the sheriff detained under their watch until he had complied with their unlawful demands and actions.

Before kidnapping the sheriff and putting him under their unlawful guard, the soldiers had ordered Kabiti ejected from her plot.

As Kabiti and those in her company had been ordered out and away from the land by the armed soldiers, there was nothing she could do to save herself from threats, harassment and eviction.

She had no immediate remedy at that point except to comply with the soldiers’ unlawful orders of eviction.

Even the police present and the sheriff appeared not to want to worsen the security situation at the scene, hence let the situation flow.

The unlawful and violent conduct by Ncube, Malamba and Chirwahemhuka was despite the police and the sheriff’s having engaged the soldiers initially about their illegal conduct against a backdrop of court orders for R-HCH4996/22 and HCH5414/25 authorising them to carry out the execution they were undertaking.

This left Kabiti facing threats and a big risk of suffering irreparable harm to her farming activities and interests through the soldiers’ actions.

“There is no alternative available remedy for the applicant (Kabiti) outside of approaching this Honourable Court in the manner she has done hereto,” the court application says.

“The applicant verily believes that she has acted with the urgency and diligence deserved in the circumstances to protect her rights and interests through grant of the relief she seeks before this Honourable Court.

“FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that the accompanying affidavits and documents are tendered in support of the application.

If you intend to oppose the application you will have to file a Notice of Opposition immediately upon service upon you of this notice, together with one or more opposing affidavits with the Registrar of the High Court at Harare. You will also have to serve a copy of the Notice of 4/33 Opposition and affidavit/s on the Applicant at the address and/or contact details for service specified below.If you do not file an opposing affidavit within the period specified above, this application will be set down for hearing before a Judge in chambers in the High Court at Harare without further notice to you and will be dealt with without your input.”