Ezra Ruvai Chadzamira who is also the national assembly member for Masvingo West who violently took over from a 66 year old widow Yvonne Godard, giving her a two week eviction notice from the Crest of Ibeka farm popularly known as Goddard Farm recently has been unceremoniously kicked out as Zanu-PF Masvingo provincial chairperson and is now set to lose the farm.
He is one of the three provincial chairpersons on charges of disobeying party orders and inciting insolence within the party.
In a dramatic twist of events senior army officials and provincial CIO bosses are eyeing the farm and are determined to kick Chadzamira out. However Chadzamira is said to be seeking Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s protection since the securocrats are piling relentless pressure on him to vacate the farm.
It has been reported that the securocrats are also determined to take over the farm from Chadzamira in an arrangement they intend to partition it among themselves.
“There are CIO bosses and top military personnel who are eyeing the same property so they want to kick out Chadzamira so that they can partition the farm among themselves. Chadzamira is now seeking protection from Mnangagwa for the obvious reason that he belongs to the VP’s faction. So we are likely to witness twists and turns in the Cresta Ibeka saga,” said a senior provincial official.
Goddard used to be one of the best farmers in Masvingo and he used to supply fresh farm produce such as cucumbers, butternuts, beans and vegetables to the city. He was also into dairy farming as well as beef production. However, the supply deteriorated since the turn of the millennium when Zanu-PF started the land invasions.
Army bosses like Colonel Chakauya and one Zvoushe from the President’s Office were previously awarded offer letters to take over the farm but were blocked by the then Minister of Lands Herbert Murerwa from taking over the farm.
Murerwa went to the extent of giving Goddard an offer letter saying he was fully utilising the land, hence there was no need to grab the farm.
In a bid to protect Goddard family, Murerwa wrote an offer letter but unfortunately the current minister of Lands Douglas Mombeshora withdrew the offer in October 2015. Goddard’s wife who is now a widow wrote to Mombeshora pleading with him to stop withdrawing the offer but was not listened to.
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