ABOUT 169 war veterans who were arrested for invading thousands of hectares of sugarcane plots belonging to sugar producing company Tongaat Hulett in Chiredzi were yesterday dragged to court.
Stella Masosoti and 168 of her colleagues appeared before Chiredzi magistrate Honest Masiiwa facing charges of breaching the Gazetted Lands Act (Chapter 20:28).
They allegedly contravened Section 3(1) of the Act by unlawfully imposing themselves on land that belongs to the sugar producing firm.
Prosecutor Liberty Hove told the court that on May 15 and 16, Masosoti and her fellow war vets invaded Hippo Valley’s Section 9 estates and Siringa Section 65 in Triangle estates accusing the government of failing to prioritise them during the land reform programme.
The war vets accused the local Zanu PF leadership of cancelling their offer letters.
The court heard that the war vets subdivided plots for themselves and cleared the land to start the lucrative sugarcane farming venture on the Tongaat Hulett estates.
Despite attempts by Tongaat Hulett’s staff to evict them, they remained defiant until anti-riot police forced them off.
The war vets were divided into two groups and remanded in custody to today (Thursday) and tomorrow for continuation of trial.
