The former Co-Minister of National Healing and Integration, Moses Mzila-Ndlovu’s bid to evict several illegal settlers who invaded his property last year has suffered a temporary setback at the High Court, reported the Southern Eye.
High Court judge Justice Mary Zimba-Dube demanded that Mzila-Ndlovu add more settlers to his application.
Mzila-Ndlovu applied for a spoliation order arguing that one Johannes Zifudze and some other people invaded his property in August 2023.
Mzila-Ndlovu, who has been in occupation of the farm since 2004, cited Zifudze, the Agriculture ministry secretary, the Agriculture minister, ZRP Figtree commanding officer, the surveyor-general and the Sheriff of the High Court as respondents.
According to the application, Zifudze and other settlers pegged stands on 200 hectares of Mzila-Ndlovu’s 360 3163-hectare Hami Magazine Site Farm last year.
He also claimed that Zifudze was intending to settle more people on the farm.
However, Justice Zimba-Dube stayed ruling on the matter saying Ndlovu should have joined three other settlers in the application. She said:
l take the view that the questions of whether a spoliation had been committed and whether the applicant has made a case for the order he is seeking cannot be debated without the alleged beneficiaries of the stands being joined in this application.
This court cannot countenance a situation where a person sits blissfully at home with his family not knowing that in court an argument is raging concerning his eviction from the stand.
These persons have a direct and substantial interest in the matter turning on their eviction. They have a right to be heard.
The judge said she would not consider the merits of the application until all the beneficiaries have been joined to the application. She said:
Under the common law and in terms of 32(11), the court has the inherent power to order the joinder of further parties in a case which has already begun in order to ensure that persons interested in the subject matter of the dispute and whose rights may be affected by the judgment are before the court.
The beneficiaries of the stands have a direct and substantial interest in the subject matter of the action, ie a legal interest in the subject matter of the litigation which interest may be prejudicially affected by the judgment of the court.
It is their eviction from the stands that is sought. The matter must end here. I have no intention of considering the issue of the material disputes of fact that have been raised in the argument.
I have also no intention of even considering the merits of the application until such time that all the beneficiaries have been joined to this application.
Mzila-Ndlovu was ordered to pay the costs of suit.
In his affidavit, Mzila-Ndlovu said in June 2023, Zifudze visited him and informed him about allocating land to several settlers.
He said he believes that some beneficiaries are Zimbabwe Republic Police members stationed at Figtree.
Mzila-Ndlovu further submitted that one of the stands was allocated to the officer-in-charge of Matopo Police Station.
However, in an opposing affidavit, the officer commanding ZRP Figtree said that if police members received land, it was done in their personal capacities.
He said Mzila-Ndlovu should serve them with the application related to the land allocation.
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