Zimbabwe News

Zanu PF MP Nick Mangwana accused of displacing villagers from Chegutu farms

The secretary for Information, Nick Mangwana, is being accused of displacing villagers at two farms in Chegutu under controversial circumstances.

Mangwana teamed up with ZANU PF Mhondoro-Mubaira legislator Freddy Kapuya and business mogul Lionel Mhlanga to displace the villagers in Thorndyke and Hopewell farms in Chegutu East.

The Standard reports that Mhlanga, who is Bravura’s southern African countries’ representative, is already in the process of building a mansion and a road leading to his newfound property.

Bravura Holdings, a company owned by Nigerian billionaire, Benedict Peters, is into mining in the country.

Freddy Kapuya, who is also a former Redcliff mayor, was allegedly given 350 hectares of land while Mangwana and Mhlanga have 100 hectares each respectively, affected villagers told The Standard.

It is alleged that hundreds of villagers who are occupying part of Thorndyke and Hopewell farms have been served with eviction orders and directed to stop developments pending eviction.

A Chinese mining company, Global Platinum Resources, is also set to occupy part of the farms for platinum mining and recently visited the area for some assessments, sources said.

The Zimbabwe Land and Agrarian Network (ZLAN), a membership-based local network of farmers and researchers, has since written a letter to the government seeking clarification on the matter.

ZLAN also wrote a letter to the Chegutu Rural District Council requesting an official position on reports that Global Platinum Resources has interests in the area.

Some of the villagers are said to have occupied the land at the height of land invasions in the early 2 000s.

One of the victims, a 66-year-old woman, is said to have suffered a stroke and is bedridden after she was given only 48 hours to leave.

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