State Media

THE occupation of Buena Vista Farm in Goromonzi by new farmer Ms Ivy Rupandi is aboveboard following a long-running court process which culminated in Mr Martin Grobbler losing the farm.

Ms Rupandi was allocated the land in 2003 at the height of the Land Reform Programme, but faced resistance from Mr Grobbler.

The farm had been acquired by the State and gazetted for redistribution under the Land Reform Programme.

The battle for control of the farm spilled into the courts with Ms Rupandi on the strength of an offer letter from Government, seeking eviction of the Grobbler family.

On his part, Mr Grobbler filed numerous court applications in a bid to block Ms Rupandi from occupying the farm.

However, Ms Rupandi won her case and Mr Grobbler was evicted on the strength of a High Court order.

Dissatisfied with the court’s decision allowing his eviction, Mr Grobbler took the matter to the Supreme Court on appeal.

He lost the appeal, setting the stage for Ms Rupandi to execute the eviction order against Mr Grobbler.

Ms Rupandi’s notice of eviction was filed at the High Court on November 28, 2017 under case number HC 10633/17, but Grobbler continued to contest eviction when he applied for a stay of execution. But his appeal in the Supreme Court, under a SC 246/20 was thrown out after Justice Lavender Makoni on July 22, upheld the eviction order.