Mavhaire Sets Record Straight Following High Court Access Order on Masvingo Property, Citing School and Farm Security for Boom Gate Installation
By Correspondent
Masvingo— Former Energy and Power Development Minister Dzikamai Mavhaire has set the record straight regarding the context behind a recent High Court ruling, explaining that his installation of access security was a necessary measure to safeguard a local school, agricultural operations, and legitimate miners on Hillview Farm.
Speaking after conducting a guided tour of the Masvingo property, Mavhaire clarified that the legal proceedings centered strictly on road access control rather than any physical takeover of gold mining claims.
The High Court order, delivered by Justice Christopher Dube-Banda following an urgent *mandament van spolie* application by miner Robert Kagandi, directed the restoration of unrestricted road access to seven hectares of mining claims on the property.
Addressing the spoliation application in court, Mavhaire refuted claims that any armed operatives or barricades were deployed to dispossess miners. He maintained that the boom gates installed on internal access routes served solely as an administrative mechanism to regulate movement across private property. Justice Dube-Banda determined that the admitted presence of the gates constituted a technical restriction of prior road usage under spoliation rules, ordering that unrestricted passage be restored. Mavhaire highlighted that the judgment dealt strictly with access to farm roads and did not invalidate his property rights, transfer ownership of the roads, or order the physical destruction of the security gates.
Over recent years, unmonitored farm roads had turned Hillview Farm into an open thoroughfare, creating significant security challenges for multiple activities on the land. According to Mavhaire, the lack of access control exposed neighboring farming operations, workers, and other legitimate mining operators to heightened risks of theft and unregulated traffic.
Crucially, Mavhaire highlighted that an operational school functions within the farm boundaries. Uncontrolled movement of heavy mining vehicles, outside contractors, and unverified visitors presented direct safety hazards to students and staff, necessitating a structured access system.
Mavhaire explained that the access framework was designed to monitor and identify individuals entering the property, ensuring accountability for heavy infrastructure users while protecting farm workers, miners, and school children alike. The intent was to regulate movement on private land, not to deny access to legitimate mining rights holders.
Mavhaire criticized the complainant for misrepresenting routine security protocols, maintaining that the allegations were deliberately framed to leverage a former minister’s name for public attention. He stressed that while a mining claim grants mineral rights, it does not convert private land into a public domain or relieve the property owner of the responsibility to maintain order and security.
Following the court’s direction on road usage, Mavhaire maintained that the broader objective remains establishing a cooperative, structured framework that allows lawful mining activity to continue without compromising the safety, security, and rights of the landowner and the local community.
