Zipra veterans yesterday demanded the immediate eviction of 50 families from Castle Arms Motel on the outskirts of Bulawayo during Nitram Investment’s annual general meeting.
SILAS NKALA STAFF REPORTER
About 200 veterans were discussing the issue of several Zipra properties seized by President Robert Mugabe’s government soon after independence as it began a crackdown against PF Zapu.
At least 50 families stay at the Castle Arms Motel, which is among the properties seized by the government.
The families pay $60 a month in rentals to unknown people and the money does not benefit the veterans, some of them living in poverty.
“There are people who stay in this property for free yet we have a lot of our member’s children who have no places to stay,” Simeon Ncube, a former Zipra fighter said.
“This pains me most and if peace has to prevail with us these people must be thrown out now. We know that some people are benefiting from these people.”
However, to pacify the angry war veterans Nitram board member Pastor Khupe said they to reregister the company formed by the Zipra fighters and would soon be taking legal action against people illegally holding onto their property. “We now have the mandate to talk about these properties after we were registered as board members,” he said. “It is not proper for us to just say now move out to these people as the law says one has to be given three months’ notice of eviction. We have since drafted the notice and we will be serving the tenants in time.” Nitram chairman Hillary Mhlanga said his board had visited several Zipra properties on a fact-finding mission.
