A TOTAL of 55 families have been left homeless after they were evicted from their homes in Feber Plot in Gwanda following a court order.
Among the affected are 25 pupils at various primary and secondary schools in Gwanda District. The learners arrived home from school only to find their parents stranded with personal belongings by the roadside.
The families, some of whom had stayed at the plot since 2010, were advised to vacate the premises in March but did not comply.
They were paying rent to Mr Elvis Ncube who was reportedly the owner of the plot but lost rights to the property in a legal battle against Mr George Robert Parkings.
The tenants were served with the eviction notice on Wednesday morning and the police accompanied by security personnel at the plot oversaw the eviction process in line with the court order. The plot has been home to mostly workers from nearby mines for two decades.
When a Chronicle news crew visited the scene, desperate families stood by the roadside with their belongings.
Ms Faris Mudenda said they have been paying US$30 rent to Mr Ncube.
“I had already gone to work and someone called telling me that our belongings were being moved. When I arrived, I found officers and other people moving our belongings,” she said.
“They were moving our property from the plot, loading it into a car, and dumping it here by the roadside. Some of our property was damaged in the process and some of us lost money in the process as there were a lot of mix-ups of valuables. I have three children aged between two and 11.”
Mr Kenneth Maphaya who has been staying at the plot since 2009 said they knew the person who used to be their landlord lost rights to the property in March in a court battle but continued paying rent up to June. He said the eviction came as a surprise to them.
“We can’t be treated this way in a place where we have stayed for so long. Where do they expect us to go when accommodation is such as pain in Gwanda,” he said.
Mary Chitimba, a Lower Six student at Sabiwa High School said she was shocked when she arrived home to find her parents stranded by the roadside.
In response, Mr Ncube said he bought the property from its owner in 2009 and paid a deposit. The owner, however, died before he could obtain all the paperwork, he added.
“I was staying at the plot and I had about 53 families. I later lost the land as I didn’t have a ‘letter of no present interest’ from the Ministry of Lands to show that I had assumed ownership of the property,” he said.
“I lost the matter in March and the property was handed over to the late woman’s grandson. I then vacated and also advised the people to vacate but they refused. I last took rent money in March as I had left the place,” said Mr Ncube. Chronicle
