High Court evicts Malunga farm invaders

By Staff Reporter | Nehanda Courts |

The Bulawayo High Court has granted an application by Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) boss, Siphosami Malunga and his partners to evict Dumisani Madzivanyati from their Esidakeni Farm pending finalisation of his appeal against their court challenge of official acquisition.

Malunga confirmed on Twitter that the High Court has granted their application to evict Madzivanyati from their Esidakeni farm. The ruling will be in effect until the finalisation of Madzivanyati’s appeal and Malunga and his business partners’ High Court challenge against the official acquisition.

“The Deputy Sheriff will evict him forthwith and all those claiming under him.

“From that point we will consider him a criminal trespasser at #ESidakeni with the attendant consequences of criminal trespass. It’s a level 5 criminal offence liable for 6 months imprisonment,” he said.

The High Court ruling dated October 28 read: “The Applicants are hereby granted leave to carry into execution the judgement of this court granted on the 7th October 2021 as judgment under HH 190/21 notwithstanding the appeal noted by the Respondent to the Supreme Court on the 12th October 2021 or any other appeal that may be noted in respect of this matter.”

In July this year, Madzivanyati, a National University of Science and Technology (NUST) lecturer, invaded Esidakeni Farm, which is jointly owned by Siphosami, the son of late national hero Sydney Malunga, Zephaniah Dhlamini and gold miner Charles Moyo.

Earlier last month, the High Court ordered Madzivanyati and his associates to vacate the property within 24 hours.

Malunga and his partners had challenged the repossession of the farm and Madzivanyati lost the case with costs before High Court judge Justice Martin Makonese

In his judgment, Justice Makonese said Madzivanyati had no right to take matters into his own hands. The judge also ordered Madzivanyati to restore all farming equipment, including irrigation pipes to the applicants within 24 hours, failure of which the sheriff would be ordered to direct eviction.

Madzivanyati appealed the High Court decision at the Supreme Court and the matter is still pending. Nehanda Radio