HARARE – The High Court in Harare has blocked a plan by lands minister Anxious Masuka to evict a group of war veterans in Goromonzi to make way for Billy Rautenbach, the millionaire tycoon who is a friend of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Justice Regis Dembure said Masuka’s decision to withdraw offer letters given to five war veterans for Springs Farm was irrational.
The judge said the issue of land is critical and the minister failed in his job by failing to listen to points raises by the war veterans in defending their land.
Dembure also noted that the war veterans, who brought the court challenge, have been on the farm for a long time and had made considerable developments which the minister ignored and never showed that he exercised his mind on that fact.
“The minister was supposed to consider representations made by the applicants. The manner in which the decisions were made clearly shows there were no due considerations to what had been raised by the applicants,” the judge ruled on Thursday.
“For instance, one applicant has been involved in a joint venture with the government itself and the contract was due to expire. This shows that the minister was irrational and insensitive,” said Justice Dembure.
The war veterans dragged Masuka to court after he withdrew their offer letters. The land was subsequently given to Rautenbach, a longtime financier of Zanu PF who owns vast tracts of land across Zimbabwe.
The government challenged the application with the lands ministry’s permanent secretary filing an opposing affidavit, which the judge tossed out.
Through their lawyer Prof Lovemore Madhuku, who was taking instructions from Ashiel Mugiya, the war veterans challenged the permanent secretary’s authority.
They argued that only the minister had authority to respond to their court application, an argument upheld by the court.
“I wish to point out that the law in relation to authority to act is already settled… There is no evidence before me to show that he (permanent secretary) has authority,” the judge said.
“The act of withdrawal of offer letter is by the minister and cannot be delegated. The decision is his and he must justify his action.”
The judge also noted that the minister only has the power to delegate administrative, not statutory, authority.
“If a decision-maker has failed to depose an affidavit… it’s inadmissible.”
The judge highlighted that the minister’s actions had severely disrupted the veterans’ livelihood.
“He is the one who should have told the court if it was a good intention to withdraw the offer letters and what was his state of mind when he formulated these decisions,” Dembure said.
“In the absence of his affidavit, the opposition is clearly a nullity. There is no proper opposition before the court.”
The minister was also ordered to pay costs of suit.
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