Community based organisations condemn police action in Chisumbanje
A group of community based organisations has rapped police heavy handedness when they descended on defenceless villagers from Chisumbanje involved in a land dispute.
The Alliance of Community Based Organisations accused the police of using tear smoke on the villagers who are claiming what they insist is their land from Green Fuel, a fuel producing company based in Chisumbanje.
“We are appealing to the police and Zimbabwe National Army who are reportedly now a permanent feature in (the) Chisumbanje disputed land to retreat from torturing unarmed innocent citizens and families, and treat them with the human dignity they deserve as guaranteed in the constitution of Zimbabwe, until a lasting solution to this problem is found.
“The villagers have not been informed through proper government structures that they should stop using their plots and farmland. There is no question, however, about the unacceptability of the police to resort to use of force,” reads part of the solidarity statement.
According to the statement, Chisumbanje police descended on the Chinyamukwakwa and Chisumbanje communities from December 27, 2014, barring them from tilling their land because of the unresolved boundary dispute with Green Fuel.
Affected villagers sorely depend on the land for livelihoods. Police have since barred them from planting crops.
“The police reacted violently and beat up the unarmed villagers who were not even protesting, but only doing what they have been doing for years, to earn a living from subsistence farming.
“Police is expected to protect civilians in the face of such unresolved disputes until the matter is resolved at the courts of law. We are greatly concerned about the rights and livelihoods of women, children, youth and the generality of the farming communities affected by the wrangle,” said the alliance.
Some10 villagers have since been arrested and on January 8, 2015, prosecutors at Chipinge Magistrates Court and lawyers dismissed the case on grounds that it was irresolvable.
“On the Chisumbanje-Green Fuel dispute, we expect government to intervene and bring the dispute to finality as any further delay will have a huge impact on the already compromised livelihoods of the Chinyamukwakwa and Chisumbanje communities.
“Already, because of the current wrangle, some villagers have failed to plant any crops and this will result in hunger and starvation among the affected families,” said the CBOs.
The dispute between villagers and Green Fuel has been dragging on for the past five years.
The alliance called on the state and non-governmental organisations in Chipinge to facilitate training programmes on non-violent conflict resolution mechanisms.
Involved parties were urged to get into an all-stakeholder dialogue as initially suggested by the Platform for Youth Development. – The Zimbabwean