MASVINGO – A woman and her two-year-old baby were detained overnight at Masvingo Central Police Station after she resisted what she says is an attempt by Chivi North legislator Godfrey Mukungunugwa to take over her plot in Clipsham.
Nancy Rikitai Gwaindepi (42) and a neighbour were arrested on Monday and released on Tuesday afternoon. The incident has brought to the fore a long-running land dispute that has seen more than 700 families in the area receive verbal notices to vacate.
Gwaindepi claims Mukungunugwa is grabbing more than four adjacent plots, each measuring 1.5 hectares, which would leave him with at least six hectares of prime peri-urban agricultural land. She said she has lived on the plot since 2002 and holds an offer letter issued by the then Minister of Lands.
‘I pleaded with the men to consider my situation as I was about to become homeless,’ Gwaindepi said. ‘The next thing I saw was a police vehicle with two female officers and a driver arriving. I was arrested along with my baby and a neighbour.’
The men were erecting a fence on the disputed land when the arrest occurred. Gwaindepi said the workers told her they had been sent by Mukungunugwa.
Mukungunugwa confirmed the arrest but said the plot belongs to his brother, Day Mukungunugwa, who was allocated the land by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works in September 2025. He described Gwaindepi as an illegal occupant and said his brother had been in communication with the settlers.
‘I have checked our records, and we don’t have that name,’ said provincial police spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa, referring to Gwaindepi. Mukungunugwa, however, confirmed that she was arrested.
The MP asked this publication not to run the story, arguing that it would drag his name into the mud. He said he had never visited the plot.
Wider evictions
Gwaindepi is among hundreds of plot holders who claim they are being evicted to make way for politically connected individuals. Affected families include war veterans, former police officers, and civil servants who have lived in Clipsham for over two decades.
They say the new occupiers, who include permanent secretaries, directors in various ministries, and workers from the office of Masvingo Minister of State Ezra Chadzamira, are armed with fresh offer letters from the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works.
Plot holders claim the new scheme is shrouded in secrecy and that efforts to get details from relevant government departments have been futile for the past two years.
The trauma has taken a toll on Gwaindepi’s family. Her husband, Prichard Tafirenyika Masocks, a driver based in Shurugwi, had to leave his job to attend to the crisis. Two of their children, aged 16 and 19, have disappeared from home, reportedly fleeing the harassment.
‘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,’ Masocks said.
Another affected resident, 72-year-old Moffat Chikozho, said he has stayed on his plot since 2002 and has been disturbed by the latest developments.
The case highlights growing tensions over land allocation in Zimbabwe, where disputes often pit ordinary citizens against powerful elites. As the families await clarity, the uncertainty continues to weigh heavily on those facing displacement.
