A Masvingo woman and her two-year-old baby spent a night in police cells after she resisted attempts to occupy her plot in Clipsham, in a land dispute that has drawn in Chivi North Member of Parliament Godfrey Mukungunugwa.
Nancy Rikitai Gwaindepi, 42, and a neighbour were arrested on Monday and detained overnight before being released the following afternoon. The incident has heightened tensions in the peri-urban farming area, where more than 700 families face eviction.
Woman and toddler locked up
Gwaindepi told reporters that the ordeal began when a group of men arrived at her plot and started erecting a fence covering four adjacent plots, each measuring 1.5 hectares. She pleaded with them, explaining that she was about to become homeless. Shortly afterwards, a police vehicle arrived, and she, her baby, and a neighbour were taken into custody.
“I was arrested and slept in the cells,” she said. “My two children have just left home, and we do not know where they are. They fled because of the situation.”
Her husband, Prichard Tafirenyika Masocks, who works as a driver in Shurugwi, had to leave his job to attend to the family crisis. He said two of their children, aged 16 and 19, have disappeared as harassment from police and the MP’s workers intensified.
Land dispute escalates
Gwaindepi claims Mukungunugwa is grabbing more than four plots, which would leave him with at least six hectares of prime agricultural land in Masvingo’s peri-urban belt. She said her family has lived on the plot since 2002 and holds an offer letter issued by the then Ministry of Lands.
Other plot holders, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged that Zanu PF politicians involved in the land grabs are multiple farm owners with sugarcane farms in Chiredzi and other properties elsewhere. They said the new occupiers, including permanent secretaries, directors in various ministries, and workers from the office of Masvingo Minister of State Ezra Chadzamira, have fresh letters from the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works.
The evictions, according to the residents, have been carried out with verbal notices and are shrouded in secrecy. Efforts to get details from relevant government departments over the past two years have been unsuccessful.
MP denies wrongdoing
Mukungunugwa confirmed the arrest but insisted the plot belongs to his brother, Day Mukungunugwa. He described Gwaindepi as an illegal occupant who was given notice to vacate after the land was allocated to Day in September 2025. He said the area is now designated for agro-business plots and that his brother had been in communication with the “illegal settlers.”
The MP asked that the story not be published, arguing that it would drag his name through the mud. He said he had never visited the plot. Attempts to reach Day Mukungunugwa for comment were futile.
Provincial police spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa said Gwaindepi’s name was not in their records. However, Mukungunugwa confirmed that she was arrested.
Broader eviction crisis
Gwaindepi is not alone. Moffat Chikozho, 72, said he has stayed on his plot since 2002 and has been disturbed by the recent developments. Like many others, he fears losing his home.
The affected plot holders include war veterans, former police officers, and civil servants who have lived in Clipsham for more than two decades. They say they were only given verbal notices to vacate, and that the new scheme is being implemented without transparency.
As the standoff continues, families like Gwaindepi’s are left in limbo, with children missing and livelihoods threatened. The case highlights growing tensions over land in Zimbabwe’s peri-urban areas, where political connections often determine who stays and who is forced out.
