
CCC Member Assaulted Over Post-Election Land Dispute
Telling the other story
CCC Member Assaulted Over Post-Election Land Dispute
By Lorraine Ndebele and Marko Shoko
A member of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) recently suffered a broken leg after being heavily assaulted by alleged members of the ruling party (ZANU-PF) following a disagreement over land.
Munorwei Chinyangana from Ward 24 Chiredzi East was rushed to Mashoko Mission Hospital in Bikita, Masvingo Province for medical treatment after being attacked by three ZANU PF members who severely assaulted after he confronted them over the invasion of his farm.
Chinyangana says he has owned a farm in Lavanga Ward 1, Chiredzi East District since 2012. He got the farm through the land reform programme and has been occupying and utilizing it since then. However, following Zimbabwe’s most recent harmonized elections held on 23 August 2023, local land officials are said to have allocated Chinyangana’s farm to another person, Blessing Vheremu. Being concerned about reallocation the farm, Chinyangana approached Vheremu at the latter’s home suggesting that they go to the local Village Development Committee (VDCO) Chairperson to amicably resolve the issue.
Vheremu was not amused by Chinyangana’s visit and he angrily proceeded to his neighbor’s home where he mobilized two men and a woman to attack Chinyangana. As Chinyangana said, it was the woman who started the violent attack on him.
“As they attacked me, I insisted that we go and see the VDCO chairman for a peaceful resolution to the dispute”, Chinyangana said.
“However, they pushed me to the ground and started beating all over my body telling me that they don’t care about CCC people because this land is owned by ZANU-PF”, he said.
When his attackers eventually decided to go to Adam Hama, the VDCO Chairman, Chinyangana said he was already seriously injured and could neither walk nor drive his motorcycle. He said he called members of his family who took him to Mashoko hospital where he said was treated for injuries including…
Although he has been discharged from Mashoko hospital, Chinyangana says he is still unwell and is planning to go to Harare for further treatment.
Reached for comment, Vheremu denied assaulting Chinyangana. “His injuries may have resulted from falling on a motor cycle”, Chidoko said, adding: “It was the lady we were with who simply pushed him down.”
Vheremu also denied dispossessing Chinyangana of his land, saying he was allocated eighty (80) meters of the land by Cephus Marape who, he said, is the actual owner of the farm that Chinyangana claims to be his.
“I was given a piece of that farm by Marape who only gave me 80 metres and told me to farm there together with Chinyangana”, said Vheremu.
He also says that Chinyangana was already injured when he approached him which he suspects was a fall from a motorbike
Efforts to get a comment from the VDCO chairman of Chiredzi East, Adam Hama were fruitless as his phone was unavailable.
Panashe Chikonyora
The country’s fight against Covid-19 (coronavirus) is proving to be almost an impossible battle as citizens in most of the country’s rural communities are now becoming resistant with little or no adherence to Government’s COVID-19 regulations.
Curfews, observing social distancing, wearing face masks, hand sanitizing Covid-19 testing and screening are some of the regulations which government has implemented as part of its efforts to prevent the coronavirus from spreading in the country. The regulations are in line with the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s protocols (masking, social distancing and sanitizing) – which many countries have been observing since 2019 when the virus broke out.
However, people living in the country’s rural communities like in Mudzi seem not to be taking the COVID-19 pandemic seriously due to various misconceptions they have about the virus.
“Many people are testing positive for COVID-19 because a lot of people do not appreciate the need for adhering to the preventive measures, especially of the new Omicron variant mainly due to ignorance. They are not taking the COVID-19 pandemic seriously despite the educational campaigns we conduct and they do not value their health as a result they may at times come to the clinic for treatment without wearing face masks and even at times refusing to get tested for Covid. However, we will continue educating them and we hope to engage influential leaders in the process, so that we try and make people see the importance of following the COVID-19 regulations in reducing the spread of the virus in the area and country at large,” said a nurse in one of the local clinics in Mudzi.
In Makaha, a rural community under Mudzi district, traveling or walking without wearing a face mask has become a normalcy. Most people move around unhesitant without wearing face masks, while some even gather without maintaining social distance. People have become ignorant and are turning a blind eye to the health risks posed by such negligence. This is worrying as it is contributing in the surge in number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the country.
According to the Health and Child Care Ministry, as of 13 January 2022, Mashonaland East province, where Mudzi district is located, had the highest number of 3 783 Covid-19 active cases out of the ten provinces (Bulawayo, Harare, Manicaland, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland Central, Midlands, Masvingo, Matebeleland North and Matebeleland South). The province was also the third lowest to record few PCR Covid-19 tests with only 310 tests having been done. Overally the country recorded 225 084 cumulative cases with 651 of the cases being new, while the total number of deaths was 5 222.
From the above snapshot it is evident that the Omicron variant is not taken seriously and is not being treated as an issue of great concern in Mudzi, despite reports by health experts and health organisations which point to it becoming even more deadly than other previous variants.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SARS-CoV-2_Omicron_variant
The Omicron variant was first detected on 22 November last year, in laboratories in Botswana and South Africa and the variant is believed to be far more contagious (spreading much more quickly and multiplying faster than the Delta variant. As of 7 January 2022, the variant has been confirmed in 135 countries, including Zimbabwe. In order to strengthen its response to the threat posed by the new Omicron variant, government reviewed Covid-19 regulations in December last year.
ZDI Monthly Monitoring Report on Access to Public Health – Zimbabwe’s Covid-19 Herd Immunity: Government’s Target vs Results.- January 2022
ZDI Monthly Monitoring Report on Access to Public Health – The Unending Covid-19 variants: Increased Public Health Spending a Must for Zimbabwe.- January 2022
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ACCESS TO PUBLIC HEALTH MONITORING REPORT DECEMBER 2021
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ZIMBABWE DEMOCRACY INSTITUTE (ZDI)
ACCESS TO PUBLIC HEALTH MONITORING REPORT DECEMBER 2021. SPIKING COVID-19 INFECTIONS: A CALL FOR GOVERNMENT TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE IN ADHERING TO PREVENTATIVE MEASURES.