Staff Reporter | Self confessed President Robert Mugabe’s loyal son and current Minister of culture and rural development Abednico Ncube’s name has been drawn into a fraudulent allocation of a prime farm in Gwanda.
Ncube and Gwanda district lands officer Makheyi Maseko are accused of allocating part of Nsindi Ranch in Gwanda to Minister Ncube’s son in law without following proper procedures. In a story developing at the Gwanda Civil court, the owner of the farm identified as J F Stewart is contesting the allocation of his farm to Ncube’s son in law who has produced unauthentic offer documents to court.
The documents are believed to have been signed by both Ncube and Maseko without the approval of the district lands committee nor the District Administrator who chairs the lands committee.
The case appeared at the Gwanda Civil Court for the second time yesterday but was postponed without deliberations to next week Wednesday.
Meanwhile, scores of villagers have been accompanying the white farmer to court to resist the allocation of the farm to the Minister’s son in law believed to be a CIO operative. On the other hand, an equal number of war veterans and some ZANU PF supporters have also been going to the court singing revolutionary songs and demanding for the white farmer’s eviction from the farm.
Villagers insist that the farmer will not be moved from the farm as he has been assisting them with farming projects for many years.
The stand off is likely to see political heavy weights bringing a solution to the matter which appears to be wriggling around ZANU PF succession issues. War veterans are believed to be instigated by a faction loyal to Vice President Emerson Munangagwa to frustrate the local white farmers who ate said to be loyal to first lady Grace Mugabe and have been busy gathering resources for the first lady’s visit to there province soon.