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Herald Reporter
Chipinge commercial farmer Mr Richard Le Vieux says his farm was not invaded following reports of a misunderstanding between him and a neighbouring farmer which went viral last week, stoking fears of renewed chaos in farms.

On February 16, Mr Richard Le Vieux and Mr Remembrance Mbudzana had a misunderstanding at Farfell Estate in Chipinge over part of the land which had been allocated to the latter.

Mr Mbudzana was offered the land after the first beneficiary Chief Aeneas Mapungwana had the farm repossessed by Government for failing to occupy the land.

Chief Mapungwana was offered land elsewhere at subdivision 7 of Lot 1 of Gungunyana in Chipinge.

A misunderstanding arose between Messrs Le Vieux and Mbudzana, a common feature in farming areas and the Government has since intervened.

Mr Le Vieux confirmed the incident.

“There is no farm invasion. It is only a misunderstanding. Government is assisting to correct the anomaly. Currently, there are processes taking place and it is too early for me to comment, but will be able to do so soon,” he said.

Mr Le Vieux said he did not have any problems with Mr Mbudzana.

Documents in The Herald’s possession show that Farfell Farm was previously owned by Farfell Coffee Estate and measured 526  hectares.

It consisted of two farms; Lot 1 measuring 229 hectares and Lot 2 measuring 297 hectares.

Both farms were gazetted on June 22, 2002.

With the progression of the land reform, Lot 1 was allocated to Chief Aeneas Mapungwana in 2009. Lot 2 was not formally allocated to anyone.

Mr Le Vieux continued using the farm.

On December 3, 2018, Government withdrew the offer letter it had given Chief Mapungwana.

Mr Mbudzana was then offered part of the land.

In the incident circulating on social media, Mr Mbudzana said he visited the farm to monitor boundaries resulting in the mini-altercation.

Chief Mapungwana declined to comment on the matter.

“The matter is being handled by Government now,” he said.

President of the Chief’s Council, Chief Fortune Charumbira, who has knowledge of the matter as it involves a traditional leader, was unavailable yesterday as he was reportedly out of the   country.