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CLEANSING CEREMONY AT LESBURY FARM IN RUSAPE, to pave way for the return of the evicted white farmer, in line with President Mnangagwa’s promise that those who lost farms would be compensated
Robert Smart and his family made a grand return to Lesbury farm led by mediums and traditional leaders yesterday after spending more than six months away after eviction to allow the resettlement of a senior cleric, Bishop Trevor Manhanga in June 2017.
The ceremony that started on Friday night ends today was witnessed by scores of people including Zanu Pf, local villagers, soldiers war veterans and ex farm workers who came to see the cleansing of the ‘defiled’ farm by invaders.
The ceremony was marked with Mafuwe drumbeat from beyond the hills and popular spirit medium Tenzi Nehoreka led several groups of other spirit mediums all drawn from across Zimbabwe’s 10 provinces.
The farmer Robert Smart (71) along with his family were evicted from the productive Lesbury farm outside Rusape by the deposed president Robert Mugabe’s allies in June 2017 to pave way for Bishop Trevor Manhanga’s take over. The return of the evicted white farmer, however marks the beginning in line with President Mnangagwa’s promise that those who lost farms would be compensated
Bishop Manhanga is reported to have come with three other farmers whom he distributed 700 ha farms to.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s take over was the saviour for the Smart family who built a school, constructed and maintained roads, created employment and made shops for locals.
According to the local Chief Tandi the cleansing ceremony was designed to cleanse the area because Bishop Manhanga defiled the area, and built a church at the farm near the graves of the area’s first inhabitants and vandalised farm machinery and infrastructure.
Smart, and his son Darryn (40) indicated that they would start serious business tomorrow back in full force, and next week they will start production plant potatoes, maize, paprika and other crops re-invest heavily into farming after losing, US$3 million worth of assets and other goods in the occupation, inclusing US$70 000 workers’ June salaries.
Lesbury farm employed 300 permanent workers before the take over but the Smart family will kick start production with 100 workers first.
The occupation happened on June 19 2017 with the assistance of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) who assaulted farm workers, with baton sticks at the Smart family farm run by the family since 1930.
This development should scare many Zimbabweans settled in the fast track Zanu pf farms, as Mnangagwa is keen to court international finance, remove travel sanctions on him and his government reengage the global village by showing an effort at rebuilding agriculture, what once was the back bone of Zimbabwe’ s economy and the bread basket of Africa. he did promise that there would be compensation according to the law for those who lost farms in the chaotic Zanu pf land reform exercise. This is not going to go down well with many blacks who felt that Mugabe’s government was right to give back land to the indigenous people and address a past imbalance created by the forced, murderous racist eviction of blacks from fertile land when the settler column took over. Mnangagwa, Zanu pf stalwarts and securocrats will struggle to justify support and votes in the 2018 ballot as the dispossession of blacks of their birth right spreads, while they have multi farm possession and billions stashed away, yet blacks are suffering, landless and jobless. DISCUSS! More news to follow! By Sibusiso Ngwenya More news to follow.