By Lionel Saungweme| A close-knit quartet, comprising Insiza South Member of Parliament, Malachi Nkomo (also known as Malakhi), Gwanda Magistrate Shiela Nazombe, a former Darcal (Pvt) Ltd. employee, Zenzo Jele, and Zibusiso Ncube, a brother to Filabusi District Administrator, Sithandiwe Ndumo Ncube, is influencing cronies at the Insiza District Land Committee (DLC) to evict Atherstone Ranch residents, ZimEye can reveal.

The evictions violate a tripartite farm-sharing scheme run by the government, Darren Maughan, a major shareholder of Darcal (Pvt) Ltd. that, runs the 2332.06 ha Atherstone Ranch, and a community of 66 people supporting over a hundred and fifty dependants. The property was 6379 ha in size prior to its compulsory listing by government.   

 Atherstone Ranch is situated at West Nicholson, in the Insiza District of Matabeleland South Province, some 194 kilometres south of Zimbabwe’s second City of Bulawayo.

With backing from current Insiza North Member of Parliament, Andrew Langa, alleged to be involved affectionately with Magistrate Nazombe, the group of four invaded the farm in 2013.

Langa and Malakhi were suspended from Zanu PF in June 2015, for allegedly plotting to topple Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe. On 17 September 2015, Langa was sacked as Minister of Sports for associating with a Zanu PF faction known as “The Gamatox.”

A petition to the Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement, by the community, protests that the foursome wants to see “Government Policy on land reform program fail (sic) through the issue of more offer letters than the land can sustain.”

Reads part of the petition:

“During the course of the years we started seeing people coming with offer letters recommended by the Lands Offices Filabusi, saying they have been offered land, this never stopped until the number shot up to 102 stands.” This violates Section 73 (1) (b) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 20) Act 2013:

“Every person has the right to have the environment protected for the benefit of present and future generations ….”

The contested farm was bought in 1984, four years after Zimbabwe’s independence, by Darren from Guy Hilton Barber. Darren’s purchase was therefore free from the tainting, pre-independence racial and political encumbrances. What is more, he acquired the land after obtaining a Certificate of No Present Interest, which evidenced Government’s renunciation of its statutory first-buyer of land right. Patrick Maughan, his father, was thereafter employed as farm manager.

However, 66 settlers invaded the 6379 ha Atherstone Ranch in 2000 before Government subsequently listed the property for compulsory acquisition “under Gazette Number 233A of 2000.”   

To mitigate the loss, Patrick wrote to Kembo Mohadi, then Deputy Minister of Local Government imploring Government to invoke the law, de-list and purchase 4046.94 ha in exchange for shared and secure tenure on the remaining 2332.06 ha.

On 6 February 2001, Mohadi and the Ministry of Lands accepted Patrick’s offer. On 9 July 2001, then Governor for Matabeleland South, Steven Nkomo and officials from the Provincial Administrator’s office deliberated further on the offer and resolved that Patrick should “coexist with the newly settled farmers.”

They encouraged Patrick to keep “close dialogue with the new settlers committee of seven [7],” “return all the equipment that is all the engines” removed for “safe” keeping, “provide assistance to the newly resettled farmers by clearing their lands on the offered portion of the farm, provide tillage services to the farmers or alternatively allow the new farmers to plough where they are currently settled,” create a servitude (corridor) “to enable new settlers to pass through your [sic] farm to have access to Umzingwane River as Mbebesi River is not reliable” and “allow the farmers access roads to essential services such as the school.”  

On 21 February 2002, the Ministry of Lands agreed to an installments purchase of 4046.94 ha, at a price of Z$7 750 000, for improvements only, tendering “25% as down payment,” pledging “a further 25% within 2 years, [and payment of the] balance within 5 years of date of signing with an interest of 30% per annum on balance outstanding.”

The sale then, for tens of thousands of Zimbabwe dollars to the United States dollar on the black market, when the official exchange rate pegged the greenback at 55 Zimbabwe dollars, means Darren was deprived of the value of his property.  

Nevertheless, Darren discharged his farm-sharing obligations. He delivered a Fordson tractor and two heavy-duty Lister engines to Jele, who doubled as a community member and therefore as a “beneficiary of the alternative farm offer.”

New classroom blocks and a school office, accommodating three teachers and 43 students, were erected on the eastern end of Atherstone Farm. Darren uses his other tractor to assist in ferrying grain, maize seed and fertilizer from either Filabusi Grain Marketing Board (GMB) or Avoca GMB sub-depot, which is about 30kilometres away. He also provides the community with transport and meat during the annual mass independence celebrations.

All was well until Patrick died on 6 October 2011, after which, for two solid years, the quartet made threats to take over the farm. On 23 January 2014, the DLC dispatched offer letters for the allocation of subdivision 2, measuring 700 ha to Nazombe, subdivision 3 presumably measuring 576 ha to Malakhi while Jele and Ncube respectively got subdivision 1 and 4 measuring 523 ha each.

Then to ratify the illegality, on 12 March 2015, the DLC Chairperson issued a “Notice of Withdrawal of Atherstone Farm” to resettle “new allottees.”

In so doing, the DLC seems to have forgotten that it remained subordinate to the Ministry of Lands, which enacted the farm-sharing agreement. The DLC simply wrote that it was “… withdrawing any administration letter once advanced to Darren Maughan and whoever is responsible on the running of Atherstone farm (sic).”

Furthermore, 13 years after 4046.94 ha was sold to the Government; the DLC’s Notice of Withdrawal still referred to Atherstone Farm as “measuring 6379 ha.” This seems to ignore the sacrifices made by Darcal (Pvt) Ltd.  

“It is worth recording that my father and I amicably and willfully gave over 9 000 acres, which consisted of all the property south and east of the main Mberengwa Road, to the local people. We did this professionally and with dignity in conjunction with various Government ministries, including the Minister of Home Affairs. Since then we have acted with the best intentions in living in harmony with our neighbours,” says Darren.

Most settlers agreed with Darren and rose to petition the Minister saying:

“We have seen some Lands Officials from Filabusi pegging the other side which was given to Darren Maughan as per agreement which was signed between (sic) the Government, Darren Maughan and us the community. This also affects us in various ways because we had agreements with Darren Maughan of which he is assisting us with building of new school, our cattle have access to graze on his land and we also have access to Umzingwane [River]. He has also been engaged to the community in various ways like rebuilding of Chief Maduna Hall, The Godhlwayo Culture Centre, the irrigation at Atherstone and also the vegetable garden.”

The protest did not push the quartet off its saddle. Instead, poaching and rapid destruction of valuable property began. A year passed before Jele sold the Fordson tractor. Two heavy-duty Lister engines, given to the community to implement the “alternate offer,” disappeared.

Four thatched huts belonging to the farm were torched on 25 December 2015. Footprints from the scene of suspected arson led scouts to Malakhi’s house prompting a report to be lodged with police. The caused petitioners to cite Section 74 of the Constitution:

“No person may be evicted from their house, or have their home demolished        without a court order made considering all relevant circumstances.

A pump-house electric motor and its main-line cable were blown up causing an abrupt cut in water supplies to the homestead, livestock and farm compound comprising 17 households. With loss of the pump-house electric motor, plans to improve pastures vaporized as did twenty-eight jobs supporting 72 dependents. Tending the 1.5 ha garden, on which onions, garlic, butternuts, leaf vegetables, green pepper and cucumbers are grown for the community, stopped immediately. A massive cutting down of trees ravaged both the farm and loose soil banks of the Mzingwane River. A perimeter fence and a flood-irrigation canal, the mainstay of utility and crop-farming at the ranch, were extensively vandalized. Part of the expensive and lengthy “Class 10 Plastic Water Pipeline,” used in drawing water from Mzingwane River, was stolen. Police investigators are yet to catch those involved in the destruction and theft. The remainder of the “Class 10 Plastic Water Pipeline” was cut and sabotaged. It lies exposed to the sun and other elements.

Seeing the dilapidation, Clinton Rogers, who is caretaking the farm in Darren’s absence on medical grounds, phoned Malakhi in an effort to find a solution. Instead Malakhi reported Clinton to the police, leading to the latter’s arrest and subsequent charge of “Occupying a Gazetted Land without Lawful Authority.”  

Clinton replied in a statement:

“I am not the farm owner. The farm owner is Darren Maughan. I occupy the farm at the pleasure of Darren Maughan [Darcal (Pvt) Ltd.], who to the best of my knowledge has the permission of the government to occupy that portion of farm and this permission has subsisted from 2003 to date and it has not been withdrawn lawfully by the Minister of Lands, the Acquiring Authority.”

“Procedurally,” wrote Clinton, “the Ministry is responsible for the withdrawal of the land and not the District Lands Office.” He noted that the offer letters were issued to the quartet “before the letter cancelling the existing [farm-sharing] agreement … was delivered.”

He argued that “the community are deeply disturbed by this occupation as it affects their securities in the [farm-sharing] … agreements (sic).”

In addition, issues of arson, a “water pump blown [up] resulting in severe crop damage,” a “dramatic increase in poaching and illegal activities on the farm,” Malakhi’s “statement of ‘declaring war’ over the phone to a farm colleague Norman Dhlamini” plus recorded “death threats,” from one of Malakhi’s associates in the Atherstone Ranch-grab, were also raised. The case is still pending.

To pile on more pressure for eviction, Malakhi phoned Clinton on 24 November 2015 and ordered him to “move out of the farm” because in his words “you should realise that you are fighting a losing battle.”