By Karen Nyeraurombo
MDC Alliance president Nelson Chamisa has accused the Zanu PF led government of being cruel and heartless following the planned Chilonga evictions.
The government is intending to evict about 12 000 Shangani people in Chilonga from their ancestral land to pave way for a grass project.
Writing on Twitter, Chamisa said it was cruel to evict people in order to grow lucerne grass.
”Stop being heartless and cruel, evicting 12 500 Chilonga villagers in Chiredzi for a grass dairy project is criminal and vile.
“Chiyadzwa, Chingwizi, Chisumbanje, Green Fuel evictions show disdain of citizens. Capital and profits must not undermine citizens rights, heritage and dignity,” he said.
The Chilonga saga has also created debate in Parliament with opposition legislators taking the government to task over the issue.
However, the government in its response say there is nothing amiss in relocating people from productive land adding that the affected will be given another land.
There are however fears that the promise for relocation might not come to pass as the government has failed to relocate Cyclone Idai victim.
People who were evicted from the diamond mining fields in Chiadzwa are yet to benefit from the promises, many years after being relocated.
The Chilonga evictions come at a time when the government is also intending to evict people from illegal settlements.
Some of the Chilonga people interviewed by Bustop Tv indicated that the land being taken include graves of their ancestors and that they are not able to dig them for burial because they are not able to conduct burial rituals because people who could do that are long dead.
Norton legislator Temba Mliswa described the incident as the reversal of the land reform exercise by the government.
The Emmerson Mnangagwa government has of late been accused of reversing the gains of the land reform, which the former President Robert Mugabe had indicated was not reversible.
