MUTARE – A director in the Manicaland provincial affairs minister has lost a case in High Court in which he was trying to invade a productive farm in Chipinge.
In a High Court circuit in Mutare on thursday, Justice Isaac Muzenda ruled in favour of Lameck Bvurere the owner of stilfontein-umzila farm in Chipinge.
Bvurere had made an urgent High Court application to stop Terrence Machocho who is a director in the minister of state for provincial affairs Ellen Gwaradzimba’s office from evicting him from his farm.
In his application at the High Court, Bvurere cited Machocho as the first respondent while the minister of lands, agriculture and rural resettlement Perence Shiri as the second respondent, Gwaradzimba was the third respondent.
In the application Bvurere said Machocho unlawfully and irregularly moved onto his farming operations at his farm.
“The first respondent unlawfully and irregularly moved into the applicant’s farming operations on subdivision 2 of stilfontein of umzila in Chipinge,” he said.
“Without lawful cause, the first respondent resorting to self-help has disturbed applicant’s peaceful possession of subdivision 2 of stilfontein of umzila farm,” said Bvurere in the application.
He added that Machocho actions endangered the economic activities at the farm.
Bvurere said that he supplies maize to the Grain Marketing Board and was a grower of macadamia nuts for export.
In an order seen by this publication reads: “The first respondent and those or anyone acting through him be and are hereby ordered to restore to the applicant, peaceful and undisputed possession of subdivision 2 stilfontein of umzila farm in Chipinge district,”
“The first respondent be and hereby ordered not to engage or commence new farming operations and activities in respect of subdivision 2 Stilfontein of Umzila farm in Chipinge, the parties are to maintain peace and order towards each other pending resolution of the process mentioned in the entirety of paragraph one of the order,” reads the order by Muzenda.