Tinashe Sambiri|Zanu PF MP for Chiredzi North, Roy Bhila briefly abducted a villager in Chiredzi, accusing him of disrespecting his orders.
Bila is terrorising villagers in his constituency.
The MP wants to evict the villagers despite the fact that they have a protection order from the High Court.
Below is a position paper compiled by MACRAD Trust on the harassment of Chiredzi villagers by the Zanu PF politician.
ALERT: CHIREDZI NORTH MP ROY BHILLA CONTINUE TERRORISING VULNERABLE GUTSARUZHINJI FAMILIES
Dear Partner
Chiredzi North Member of parliament honourable Roy Bhila, ward 23 Councillor Mr Douglas Mutovo, Chiredzi District assistant district coordinator Mr Machokele, Superintendent Chaunoita from Chiredzi Police and Zanu PF Chiredzi DCC chairperson Mrs F Mabhiza terrorised vulnerable Gutsaruzhinji families despite their high court victory in December 2020.
Thursday 27 May 2021, MP for Chiredzi with his delegation named above visited the Gutsaruzhinji for a dialogue for the first time since after the High court victory for the Gutsaruzhinji families in December 2021.
During the meeting Honourable Bhilla ordered the Gutsaruzhinji families not to irrigate their crops using the Mkwasine irrigation canal as there are not the permanent residents of that area.
The outspoken MP dismissed the high court order which gives the Gutsaruzhinji power to return back to their land. In his address he dismissed the high court order and ordered the 52 Gutsaruzhinji villagers to leave the land to an unknown destination.
Honourable Roy Bhila ordered the arrest of Peter Kavele and drove away with him in the back of the assistant district coordinator Mr Machokele’s vehicle.
Peter was being accused for disrespecting the MP during his address. The Honourable member did not give Gutsaruzhinji families time to ask their question. Peter was later dropped off 7km away from his home. The Member of Parliament, assistant district coordinator, police and Zanu-Pf structures are supporting the Nyangambe families to violently evict the 52 Gutsaruzhinji villagers from the land to pave way for sugarcane plots along the Mkwasine irrigation canal.
The MP is sponsoring violence, in June 11 2020 a woman and a six month child was kidnapped, property, food and buildings were destroyed by the Nyangambe family. The matter was reported to Mkwasine police station and the accused were released and since then the police are yet to serve the victims with the court date.
The 52 Gutsaruzhinji were left homeless; six women gave birth under a tree along the Mkwasine irrigation canal where these families stay for over eight months till the high court order which gives them power to return back to their land (Chiredzi North Member of parliament honourable Roy Bhila, ward 23 Councillor Mr Douglas Mutovo, Chiredzi District coordinator representative Mr Machokele, Suprientented Chaunoita from Chiredzi Police and Zanu PF DCC chairperson Mrs F Mabhiza terrorised vulnerable Gutsaruzhinji families despite their high court victory in December 2020.
Thursday 27 May 2021, MP for Chiredzi with his delegation named above visited the Gutsaruzhinji for a first dialogue after the High court victory for the Gutsaruzhinji in December 2020.
During the meeting Honourable Bhilla ordered the Gutsaruzhinji families not to irrigate their crops using the Mkwasine irrigation canal as there are not the permanent residents of that area. The outspoken MP dismissed the high court order which gives the Gutsaruzhinji power to return back to their land. In his address the MP dismissed the court order he vehemently instructed the 52 Gutsaruzhinji villagers to leave their land to unknown destination.
The 52 Gutsaruzhinji were left homeless in June 2020; six women gave birth under a tree along the Mkwasine irrigation canal where these families stay for over eight months till the high court order which gives them power to return back to their land.
Despite the court order their MP had to instruct Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) not to reconnect water trying to make life hard for them. Before the conflict the families used to cultivate all year round using the Mkwasine irrigation canal nearby. MACRAD is greatly shocked by the behaviour of the MP, councillor, assistant district coordinator and the police for failing to respect the rights of the Gutsaruzhinji families. Since the conflict in June 2020 the district coordinator and his assistant never set their foot to Gutsaruzhinji and these families never get social welfare support despite their situation.
The families harvested nothing from the previous season as the conflict was still underway. Currently the families are surviving on sugarcane on a daily basis. The families are also denied access to health services at Nyangambe clinic but the MP, council and assistant district coordinator are unable to resolve these critical issues. MACRAD is going to continue engaging the relevant stakeholders involved so that the matter will be addressed without violating other people’s rights.
Despite the court order their MP had to instruct Zimbabwe National Water Authority ZINWA not to reconnect water to these families. Before the conflict these families used to cultivate their farms all year round using the Mkwasine irrigation canal nearby. Their livelihood was greatly distrubed by the conflict and they are not yet recovered economically, socially and some are still traumatised…
