GOLD FEUD: War Veteran Faces Eviction After Mining Dispute Erupts in Sanyati

SANYATI — A 76-year-old war veteran and ex-combatant, Timothy Tivoro, is embroiled in a high-stakes legal battle to save his six-hectare farm in Mashonaland West following the discovery of lucrative gold deposits on the property. The dispute has pitted the elderly farmer against a former employee in a case that highlights the growing friction between agricultural land rights and mining interests in Zimbabwe.

Tivoro has resided at Easterlea Farm since 1999, after being resettled from another farm in Sanyati to facilitate dam construction under a presidential scheme. He was allocated Plot 1, Village A, where he has farmed for over two decades. The farmer's troubles began in 2018 when gold was discovered on the land. While Tivoro was granted a special mining permit (SG7660), he alleges that an employee he hired for manual work, Lawrence Kazungu, attempted to seize control of the operation.

Tivoro claims that Kazungu, who previously operated a nearby chrome mine, colluded with officials from the Ministry of Mines to encroach on his land and illegally alter the farm’s coordinates.

"I was relocated... to pave the way for dam construction under a presidential scheme," Tivoro told NewsDay. "But all my problems started when I employed one Lawrence Kazungu to do manual work."

According to Tivoro, the officials involved in the alleged coordinate changes have since been dismissed.

Lawrence Kazungu has denied all allegations of wrongdoing, insisting that he possesses all necessary legal paperwork for his claims. In a sharp rebuttal, Kazungu challenged Tivoro’s status as a war veteran, describing the farmer's claims as an attempt to "create a dispute."

The dispute previously reached the highest levels of government. In a letter dated July 16, 2018, the former Minister of Mines, Winston Chitando, upheld the cancellation of the Phoebe 49 Mine license held by Kazungu. The Minister cited that the mine had been pegged in contravention of the Mines and Minerals Act and without the consent of the landowner.

Despite this prior intervention, the matter remains unresolved and is currently before the courts as Tivoro appeals for government protection to halt his eviction.

How do you believe the government should balance the rights of long-term farmers with the national interest of extracting newly discovered mineral wealth?

Sanyati farm eviction gold dispute