Army Orders 600 Gutu Home-Seekers Off Chatsworth Farm

By Southerton Business Times Reporter, Harare

The Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) has reportedly ordered about 600 home-seekers to stop developing residential stands at Gertnel Farm in Chatsworth Business Centre, Gutu, claiming the land belongs to the military.

The affected residents bought the stands from Gutu Rural District Council (RDC), with some transactions dating back to 2018. While some families have already built houses and moved in, others are still constructing their homes. Each stand reportedly cost US$3,000 or more, leaving residents worried about losing savings and investments made over several years.

According to the Masvingo Mirror, soldiers have been deployed to the area to prevent further development. The residents say they hold leases and inspection forms issued by Gutu RDC as proof of their purchases. Gutu RDC chief executive Alexander Mutembwa confirmed the dispute, saying the council was engaging the military to establish the boundaries. “There is an issue over the stands which council sold in Chatsworth. We are engaging the military and will hold a meeting with its leadership to discuss the boundaries,” Mutembwa said.

Asked whether the council would compensate residents if the stands could not be regularised, Mutembwa said the matter had not reached that stage. The dispute has raised uncertainty among families who say they purchased the land through the local authority and invested in building materials and construction. 4 Brigade public relations officer Emmanuel Muchazivepi referred questions to the ZNA Public Relations Directorate in Harare.

A senior military official told Masvingo Mirror that Gertnel Farm had belonged to the army since the Rhodesian era. The official reportedly dismissed the transactions between residents and Gutu RDC as “Sabhuku deals” and said the military would not accept responsibility for them. However, residents insist they bought their stands directly from the council. “We bought these stands from Gutu RDC, and we have all the necessary papers, including leases and inspection forms issued by council,” said Rejoice Nheya.

Another resident, who declined to be named, said he bought his stand in 2022 while serving at 4.3 Brigade in Gutu. He said military leaders had assured officers at the time that there was no problem with the stands. “Shockingly, the same army which gave its officers the green light to buy the stands is now saying the farm belongs to it,” he said.

The resident said he had invested more than US$3,000 from his earnings and claimed that more than 15 military officers had also purchased stands in the area. Some of their houses are at various stages of construction. “It is painful to be stopped after spending years saving and investing in the stand. It feels like losing everything,” he said.

Another stand-holder, Tafara Chavizha, said residents had held several meetings with the council but had yet to see progress towards resolving the dispute. “We paid everything to Gutu RDC and all our papers are in order. We have held several meetings with the council, which promised to engage the army, but there is no progress,” Chavizha said.

The ownership of Gertnel Farm remains contested, with another military source disputing the claim that the property belongs to the army. The source said the military’s shooting ranch was in Bikita and that the Chatsworth farm had only been borrowed by the army for a limited period. The conflicting accounts have left residents uncertain about the status of their purchases and the future of their homes.

The dispute now centres on establishing ownership of the land, clarifying the boundaries and determining the validity of the stands sold by Gutu RDC. No final resolution or compensation arrangement had been reported in the information available at the time of publication.

Gertnel Farm land dispute