By-Obert Mpofu, the Zanu PF Secretary for Administration, has finally vacated Esidakeni Farm he occupied in November last year after the Supreme Court ruled that his occupancy was illegal.

Mpofu and his wife seized the farm located in Nyamandlovu. They forced out the owners, among them prominent human rights advocate Siphosami Malunga, who is the son of independence war hero Sydney Malunga.

On 11 July 2022, the Supreme Court ruled that Mpofu’s “brazen invasion” was illegal.
The Esidakeni Estate owners’ lawyers gave Mpofu three days to vacate the property or risk being driven out by the messenger of court.
Malunga co-owns the farm alongside Charles Moyo and Zephaniah Dhlamini, the latter a well-known scientist from the National University of Science and Technology.

Malunga confirmed on Thursday that they were back on the farm and taking stock of the loss caused by Mpofu’s invasion. He said:
We’re back on the farm. We will now take stock of the loss and damage. The rule of law must always prevail.
Mpofu grabbed the 554-hectare farm, arguing that he had been allocated 145 hectares of it by the lands minister.
He then planted corn, but the maize crop failed to produce a yield, apparently due to excessive water and neglect.
Mpofu’s brother, Mbonisi, was the resident occupier of the farm until the Supreme Court ruling.

-ZimLive