A land dispute on the outskirts of Masvingo turned into a night behind bars for a 42-year-old woman and her two-year-old child after she tried to stop a fencing crew from working on land she has called home for more than two decades.
Nancy Rikitai Gwaindepi, who lives at a plot in Clipsham, was detained on Monday along with her toddler and a neighbour. All three spent the night in police cells and were released the following afternoon, according to an account the family gave to local media.
How the confrontation unfolded
The trouble began when a group of men arrived at the plot and started putting up a fence that would enclose four adjoining plots, each measuring about 1.5 hectares.
Gwaindepi said she pleaded with the workers, telling them she was about to lose the only home she had. Moments later, according to her account, a police vehicle arrived carrying two female officers and a driver. She, her baby and the neighbour were taken into custody.
Her husband, Prichard Tafirenyika Masocks, said the family has been left shattered by the sequence of events. He told reporters that two of his older children had fled the homestead as the pressure intensified. The couple say they do not know where the 16-year-old and 19-year-old are, even though both should be in school.
Masocks, who works as a driver in Shurugwi, said he had to leave his job to stay with his wife and their remaining son. He described police visiting the area before and warning residents that someone with considerable influence was coming to take over their plots.
Residents say the fight is much bigger than one fence
According to affected plot holders, the fencing at Gwaindepi’s home is part of a broader push to reallocate land in one of Masvingo’s most sought-after peri-urban farming areas.
Families in Clipsham say more than 700 people are now facing removal, among them war veterans, retired police officers and civil servants who have lived on their plots since around 2002. They insist they hold offer letters issued by the then Minister of Lands.
Those resisting eviction claim the new occupants include permanent secretaries, directors in various ministries and employees from the office of the Masvingo Minister of State, Ezra Chadzamira. They say the incoming group carries fresh allocation letters from the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works.
Residents also complain that they were never served with formal written notices, only verbal instructions to vacate. They describe the entire reallocation exercise as secretive, saying repeated attempts to get answers from the relevant government departments over the past two years have produced nothing.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, some plot holders alleged that ZANU PF figures involved in the takeovers are already multiple farm owners with sugarcane holdings in Chiredzi and properties elsewhere.
MP says the plot belongs to his brother
Chivi North legislator Godfrey Mukungunugwa confirmed the incident but disputed the family’s version of events. He said the plot in question belongs to his brother, Day Mukungunugwa, and described Gwaindepi as an illegal occupant who was given notice to leave after the land was allocated to his brother in September 2025.
The MP said the area has now been designated for agro-business plots, and that his brother had been communicating with what he called illegal settlers. He asked the publication that first reported the story not to run it, arguing that it would damage his reputation, and said he had never personally visited the plot.
Police provincial spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa said Gwaindepi’s name did not appear in police records. The MP, however, confirmed that she had been arrested.
Pressure on prime peri-urban land
Clipsham sits close to Masvingo city and is regarded as one of the province’s most valuable agricultural belts because of its proximity to water, roads and urban markets. That value has made it a flashpoint in Zimbabwe’s long-running disputes over land allocation, where competing offer letters and unclear administrative records often leave ordinary holders exposed.
For Gwaindepi, the practical consequences have already arrived. She says the trauma of the past weeks has left her depressed and, at times, contemplating suicide. Her husband says two more of their children have disappeared from home. A 72-year-old neighbour, Moffat Chikozho, who has also lived in the area since 2002, said the latest developments had left him deeply disturbed.
The family and other affected residents are calling for clarity on who lawfully owns the plots, and for authorities to explain how land already occupied for more than 20 years can be reallocated without written notices or a transparent process.
