BULAWAYO — War veterans have grabbed paddocks from villagers in Natisa area in Kezi, Matabeleland South province, resulting in scores of cattle dying due to lack of pastures.
Report by Nqobani Ndlovu The invaded land, which covers 1 500 hectares, is part of Maleme Ranch, owned by a farmer, Peter Canningham.
The paddocks were allocated to the villagers by Canningham in 2000 as part of his social responsibility programme.
The ex-combatants from Maphisa, about 40km from Natisa area, have also grabbed Ebenezar Agricultural Training Centre, which is part of Maleme Ranch.
The centre, covering close to 600 hectares, offers a free one-year farming training programme to the youths, mainly orphans from the province.
Affected villagers and farm workers last week said war veterans, led by one Clever Dube, had grabbed the paddocks to “fix” them for protecting Canningham from eviction from the farm.
Under an agreement signed in 2000 between the villagers and Canningham, cattle from the community were to access the paddocks from August 1 to December every year, when there would be little or no grazing pastures in area.
“We do not know what we are going to do. We have no grazing pastures for our cattle this time around, as the war veterans have taken over our paddocks,” said Gabriel Moyo, one of the villagers.
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“Our cattle are dying in numbers because there are no pastures as a result of the drought. These war vets have brought cattle from other areas.” A recent government report said there was need for urgent intervention to feed cattle in the drought-prone region of Matabeleland South province.
Standardcommunity last week heard that the ex-combatants had started renting out the paddocks.
There are currently close to 500 cows belonging to the war veterans and other farmers who are renting the paddocks.
Killion Sibanda, chairman of the Natisa area grazing scheme, said they had sought the assistance of Chief Masuku to drive out the war veterans.
“We are just praying and hoping that the Chief will intervene urgently to evict these war veterans before we lose all our cattle,” said Sibanda.
“These people are saying they are fixing us for protecting Canningham, whom we have lived with peacefully for years. He has done a lot for us.”
Sibanda said if no solution was found urgently, “We would be left with no option but to fight these war veterans. We are war veterans too. Cattle farming is our only source of livelihood and we cannot just watch while our source of livelihood is being wiped out.”
Farm manager, Phathani Sibanda, said the invaders claimed that they were allocated the farm in 2004 by government.
“We are in talks with them so that we can find an amicable solution,” he said. Dube and Canningham could not be reached for comment.
A farm worker, who refused to be named, said the war veterans also grabbed land that had been allocated to students to do small-scale farming on completion of their studies.
“It is unfortunate that they are destroying the future of these kids. This college has taught youths from this area and beyond, skills in agriculture,” he said. The dispute comes a few weeks after another farmer in Kezi, Peter Cloete, was summoned by Chief Nyangazonke for allegedly refusing to cede part of his land to villagers to graze their livestock.
