A number of war veterans in several parts of Matabeleland have been threatened with eviction while others have had their plots allegedly downsized to pave way for relatives and cronies of corrupt Lands ministry officials.
The war veterans, who were lawfully given to liberation fighters and their families during the fast-track land reform programme in 2000, appealed to President Emmerson Mnangagwa to stop the corrupt Lands ministry officials.
Court papers and testimonies obtained by Sunday Southern Eye reveal a deepening rift between long-settled land beneficiaries and new entrants, amid accusations of corruption, intimidation, and disregard for due process.
At the centre of one such dispute is Helenvale B, Plot 6 in Umguza, where war veteran Andrew Ndlovu, acting on behalf of landholder Belinda Ndlovu through a general power of attorney, has been battling the family of the late Gift House over a claim to “Plot 10,” which he insists never existed.
“Helenvale B Block had only nine plots allocated in 2001 under the A1 model,” Ndlovu said.
“There was never a Plot 10.
“Someone is trying to downsize Belinda Ndlovu’s land clandestinely.”
Court records show that in August 2025, the Bulawayo Magistrates’ Court struck off a case brought by Gift House’s sister, Ottilia House, ruling that the matter could only be determined once the Zimbabwe Land Commission (ZLC) issues a written determination on the boundary dispute.
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Earlier this year, Ndlovu, the ex-combatant, secured an interdict barring members of the House family from harassing him, vandalising his farm fence, or threatening violence.
But the war veteran insists the problem goes beyond his case, pointing fingers at lands ministry officers at Mhlahlandlela Government Complex.
“They are downsizing farms without owners’ knowledge, issuing fresh offer letters, and then backing the new beneficiaries in disputes,” Ndlovu said, calling for an “overhaul” of the Lands Ministry in Bulawayo.
“Most of these cases involve bribery.
“Old beneficiaries who developed their farms since 2000 are being pushed out.”
Other war veterans across Matabeleland North echoed the same concerns.
At Joes’luk Farm in Umguza, former Zanu PF councillor and ex-Zipra fighter, Priscilla Sithole, (70) said part of her land had been pegged and taken by a family claiming to be backed by the ministry.
The family has already built houses and drawn water from her dam.
Sithole, a single mother who lives with her worker, says she now feels unsafe.
“The man who took my land said he will make me disappear,” she said fighting back tears.
“I was injured during the war and often seek medical treatment in Bulawayo.
“While I was away, I was told my plot had been cut off.
“They never consulted me.
“Now their cattle come and destroy my property.”
The veteran said widows of fallen fighters were particularly vulnerable.
“We are being victimised as women war vets,” she said.
“I told others not to move until this is solved.
“These people say they are from the ministry, but when we ask at the Lands office, they deny knowing anything.”
At Klipspring Farm, several war vets shared similar cases, with plots pegged out of existence or shifted across district boundaries.
“We got this land in 2000 through DDF allocations,” one war veteran said.
“But in the last three years, new pegs have appeared and comrades are losing land.
“When we asked the surveyors, they said they were from the Ministry of Lands.
“But officials deny it.
“Widows and children of late war vets are the most affected.”
The Zimbabwe Land Commission already faces mounting pressure to speed up investigations and issue binding rulings.
War veterans argue that the spirit of the 2000 fast-track land reform programme, which was meant to correct colonial land imbalances, is being undermined by corruption within land administration structures.
Ndlovu and others appealed to the Anti-Corruption Commission to probe the matter and for a dedicated war veteran representative in Lands offices to safeguard their constitutional rights.
“We fought for this land,” he said.
“The constitution recognises veterans of the liberation struggle, but now we are being evicted by corruption.
“We want our 20% land quota to be enforced and respected.”
Vulnerable beneficiaries that include the elderly and the widowed say they fear losing the only inheritance they fought for a quarter-century ago as they fight off eviction attempts.
