HOME Affairs minister Kembo Mohadi and former police commander and war veteran Andrew Mupungu have found common ground in solving a potential fight over mining claims allocated to the minister in the former top cop’s wildlife sanctuary, Longueville Farm, in Gwanda. RICHARD MUPONDE SENIOR REPORTER
Mohadi was reportedly allocated the claims by a pegger, Brighton Kwaipa. Kwaipa is licensed by the Mines and Mining Development ministry to peg mines in Matabeleland South.
He reportedly pegged five blocks of the wildlife sanctuary, which translated into 50 hectares of land, reportedly without advising Mupungu in April 2014.
Mupungu told Southern Eye yesterday that the matter had been resolved after a chat with Mohadi.
“We solved the matter as war veterans. Everything was sorted amicably and we are talking with the minister. I don’t think there will be any rift,” said Mupungu.
Kwaipa pegged the main shaft on an area inhabited by zebras and a large number of pythons — a protected species under Zimbabwean law. The farm has large numbers of sables, kudus, elands, impalas, guinea fowls and waterbucks.
Mupungu said a letter notifying him that the minister was allocated claims in his farm was sent to his former offices in Gwanda where he was once a police commander before his move to Bulawayo.
“He sent a registered letter to Gwanda. Unfortunately those are my former offices and it didn’t get to me, that’s why I insisted that I was not informed,” Mupungu said.
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The former top cop claimed the mining dispute in Filabusi in which Pioneer Syndicate — which he co-owns with two other colleagues — was involved with one Eziel Dube, was resolved by Kwaipa after he revised the pegs.
“The Filabusi issue was resolved on Saturday. We went there and Kwaipa revised the claims; there isn’t a dispute anymore,” Mupungu said.
A new legal battle in this matter could have weighed heavily on Mohadi’s reputation as he has been at the Bulawayo High Court several times over claims that his family members wanted to grab land from villagers.
He has been linked to company grabs.
