HARARE - Zapu leader Dumiso Dabengwa’s Rudy Farm in Nyamandlovu has been invaded by Zanu PF youths.
The former Home affairs minister told the Daily News yesterday that the youths seized the farm on Monday.
The former Zanu PF politburo member said the youths initially invaded his farm two weeks ago before they withdrew after he reported the matter to the local police and the Zanu PF leadership.
He alleged the youths, operating from the so-called “Cowdray Park command centre” returned armed with axes and started parcelling out pieces of land among themselves.
“This is clearly a deliberate provocation and persecution of myself because this is a farm I bought and have title to,” Dabengwa told the Daily News.
“It is my only source of income and I don’t know where they want me to go.”
The former Zipra intelligence supremo claimed the Zanu PF activists were destroying property on the land as well as chopping down “Inkusu trees” (hard-wood) at the farm.
Rugare Gumbo, the Zanu PF spokesperson, said he was not aware of the invasion.
Dabengwa said he had engaged the Zanu PF chairman for Bulawayo Callistus Ndlovu, who told him that the youths had not been instructed by the ruling party.
He said he had also reported the case to police at Luveve Police Station as well as to Zanu PF officials.
“The police told my foreman two weeks ago to report to them if the youths came back but they have not made any arrests up to now although they were informed of their return,” Dabengwa said.
“I do have a constitutional right to own land but here we have a government that does not respect that. I don’t understand it because I did not get the farm under their land reform programme. I am waiting to see if the police will act like they promised before we take action.”