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BRUCE MOFFAT

Mashudu Netsianda Senior Court Reporter
INSIZA commercial farmer, Bruce Moffat has filed an urgent chamber application at the Bulawayo High Court challenging his eviction from a farm in Shangani. Moffat, who is locked in a farm ownership wrangle with a Bulawayo woman, Sibongile Shava lost the case two weeks ago at the Small Claims Court.

The farmer, a grandson to Howard Unwin Moffat, Southern Rhodesia’s second premier from 1927 to 1933, was subsequently ordered to vacate Oaklands farm by Magistrate Singandu Jele.

Moffat through his lawyers, Webb, Low and Barry, is seeking a provisional order to block the Messenger of Court from executing the Small Claims order pending a review of the case by the High Court.

According to the court papers filed last week, Shava, Lands and Rural Resettlement minister, Douglas Mombeshora and the Messenger of Court were cited as respondents.

Shava is widow to the late Vice-President Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo’s driver, Colleen Shava.

“This is an urgent chamber application for stay of execution of the decision of magistrate Singandu Jele, in Case number SCC 73/15, pending the finalisation of an application for review filed under cover of Case Number HC698/15,” said Moffat in his founding affidavit.

He argued that despite the acquisition of his 2,100 hectares farm by the government in 2003, he has been given permission to retain 788 hectares of Subdivision 2 of Oaklands Farm. The farm was subdivided into three sections.

“As a result of the recommendation, representatives of the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement approached me and advised me that I had been allocated the property known as Subdivision 2 of Oaklands Farm measuring 788 hectares. I remain in peaceful occupation of Sub-division 2 of Oakland Farm since 2003 until December 2014 when Shava secured a court order from the Small Claims court to evict me,” said Moffat.

In his ruling, magistrate Jele concluded that the land acquired by the State ceases to have value in terms of the Agricultural Land Settlement Act.

He said Moffat’s letter could not supersede Shava’s offer letter, which was signed by the Minister of Lands and Rural Resettlement Mombeshora.

Moffat had argued that the Small Claims had no jurisdiction to handle the dispute because of the value of the land.

According to the Small Claims Court Act, the court cannot handle cases involving money or property whose value is in excess of $10,000.

“I am advised that this finding (by Jele) is bad at law. I therefore made an application for an order setting aside the Small Claims court order.

“I have a real apprehension that I will be evicted from the farm before the application for review is finalised, a process which I believe may take a long time,” said Moffat in the court papers.

Shava said she was allocated Sub-division 2 of the farm, but Moffat disputed her ownership of the property as he refused to recognise her offer letter from the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement.

Oakland Farm has been at the centre of controversy since 2013 when Shava was allocated the land by the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement. She was subsequently given her offer letter on June 6, 2014.