Eviction Of Martin Grobbler At His Protea Farm Above Board - Report

ZimReport has said the eviction of Ruwa farmer Martin Grobbler by one Iyv Rupandi is above board. According to the publication, the dispute dates back to 2003 in which and the farm was gazetted for redistribution under the Land Reform Programme and Rupandi received an offer letter for the farm, but  Grobbler reportedly filed numerous court applications, delaying Rupandi’s occupation of the farm. 

According to ZimReport which claims it saw Rupandi’s offer letter:

Rupandi filed a notice of eviction at High Court on 28 November 2017 under case number HC 10633/17 but Grobbler continued to contest eviction and applied for a stay of execution.She then appealed to the Supreme Court, under a Civil Appeal number Sc246/20 and the case was heard by the Hon Justice Makoni on July 22 this year where the Supreme Court of Appeal upheld the High Court’s eviction order and the matter was removed from the roll with costs.Rupandi disclosedthat she would have evicted Grobbler in July but delayed as the Sherriff of the High Court cited that they were constrained because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

On his part, Grobbler also said he was promised an offer letter as the farm was in the then Export Processing Zone (EPZ) because he is producing tobacco and flowers that are being exported to the Netherlands. The farm takeover was met with widespread hostility on social media as people remember the devastating effects of the land reform program.

More: ZimReport