Choruma razes knee-high maize on contested farm, defies court order<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
By A Correspondent| Zimbabwe Lands Commissioner Tsitsi Choruma has destroyed 15 hectares of knee-high maize belonging to industrialist Prosper Muchenje in direct and flagrant violation of a High Court order barring her from interfering with production on Amandas Estate in Mazowe.<\/p>\n Choruma, a former Public Service Commissioner who is now a commissioner at the Zimbabwe Lands Commission, allegedly led a team of workers to systematically raze the crop earlier this cropping season, sources said.<\/p>\n The maize, which was at a critical growth stage and weeks away from tasseling, was completely destroyed.<\/p>\n The October 2022 High Court interdict, granted by Justice Neville Wamambo, explicitly prohibited Choruma and her agents from \u201cconducting any activity\u201d on the disputed portion of the farm, warning of \u201cirreparable harm\u201d to Muchenje. Choruma has ignored the order with impunity.<\/p>\n Sources accuse Choruma of leveraging her current position as a Lands Commissioner \u2014 the very body that adjudicates land disputes \u2014 to evade accountability and intimidate opponents.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is now a commissioner at the Lands Commission, the same authority that deals with land matters,\u201d a source close to the dispute said.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is using that position to shield herself from consequences. How can the public get justice when the person grabbing land is also the one supposed to regulate land allocation?\u201d<\/p>\n When Muchenje\u2019s representatives rushed to a local police station to report the criminal destruction of crops, officers refused to open a doc or take a formal statement, sources told this publication.<\/p>\n Witnesses allege the refusal was linked to Choruma\u2019s powerful connections \u2014 first as a Public Service Commissioner and now as a Lands Commissioner \u2014 which appear to have placed her above the law.<\/p>\n \u201cThe police told my client it was a \u2018land issue\u2019 and not a criminal matter, despite the fact that crops were deliberately destroyed,\u201d another source said. \u201cAnyone else would have been arrested by now. But because she is who she is, the police look the other way.\u201d<\/p>\n Muchenje\u2019s legal team is now preparing an urgent contempt of court application against Choruma. Legal analysts say a conviction for contempt could result in a fine, imprisonment, or both \u2014 but question whether the courts will act against a sitting Lands Commissioner.<\/p>\n Choruma has previously maintained she holds a valid offer letter from the Ministry of Lands, dating back to March 2022 when Lands Minister Anxious Masuka allocated her 50 hectares of the farm.<\/p>\n Muchenje, who was originally allocated Amandas Estate in 2013, has consistently challenged the legality of that allocation.<\/p>\n Critics say Choruma\u2019s appointment to the Lands Commission while actively involved in a disputed land claim represents a glaring conflict of interest.<\/p>\n Choruma did not respond to multiple requests for comment.<\/p>\n Police authorities had not responded to inquiries by the time of publication.<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div>\n \n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Choruma-razes-knee-high-maize-on-contested-farm-defies-court-order.jpg?resize=640%2C427&ssl=1\")
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