A land dispute in Masvingo turned into a night in police cells for a 42-year-old woman and her two-year-old baby after they resisted the occupation of their plot in Clipsham, a peri-urban area outside the city.
Nancy Rikitai Gwaindepi and a neighbour were arrested on Monday by Masvingo police as they tried to stop a group of men from erecting a fence on land she has occupied since 2002. They were released the following afternoon.
Gwaindepi claims the men were sent by Chivi North MP Godfrey Mukungunugwa, who is accused of grabbing more than four adjacent plots, each measuring 1.5 hectares. The MP, however, says the land belongs to his brother, Day Mukungunugwa, who was allocated it by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works in September 2025.
Family traumatised
‘Four days ago, my wife was arrested and she slept in the cells. Two of my children have just left home and we do not know where they are. They fled because of the situation,’ said her husband, Prichard Tafirenyika Masocks.
Masocks, who works as a driver in Shurugwi, said he had to leave his job to be with his family. He said police visited the area twice and told plot holders that someone with great influence was coming to occupy their plots.
The dispute has affected more than 700 people in Clipsham, including war veterans, former police officers, and civil servants who have lived there for over two decades. Affected residents say they hold offer letters issued by the then Minister of Lands, while the new occupiers—reportedly including permanent secretaries, directors, and workers from the office of Masvingo Minister of State Ezra Chadzamira—possess fresh letters from the Ministry of Local Government.
Some residents claim that the politicians grabbing the land are multiple farm owners with sugarcane farms in Chiredzi and other properties elsewhere. They say they were given only verbal notices to vacate.
Conflicting accounts
Mukungunugwa confirmed the arrest but described Gwaindepi as an illegal occupant who was given notice to move out. He said the area is now designated as agro-business plots and that his brother had been in communication with the ‘illegal settlers.’ He asked the Masvingo Mirror not to publish the story, arguing that it would drag his name into the mud.
Provincial police spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa said Gwaindepi’s name was not in their records. However, Mukungunugwa confirmed that she was arrested.
Moffat Chikozho, 72, another affected resident, said he has stayed on his plot since 2002 and has been disturbed by the recent developments. The land allocation scheme remains unclear, with government departments failing to provide details for the past two years.
The incident highlights growing tensions over land in peri-urban Masvingo, where ordinary families accuse political elites of displacing them. As the affected families seek answers, the case raises questions about the rule of law and the protection of vulnerable citizens.