(TALKZIMBABWE) Tsvangirai's niece in alleged Chegutu farm grab

Tsvangirai's niece in alleged Chegutu farm grab
TZG/ZWNEWS
Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:45:00 +0000

THE niece of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai who made the headlines last month when she walked the red carpet with the prime minister at President Jacob Zuma's inaugration is alleged to be involved in an attempt to grab a white-owned farm in Chegutu, a town in the Mashonaland West province, northern Zimbabwe.

Dr. Arikana Chihombori, walked the red carpet with prime minister Tsvangirai in May after being invited to South African President Zuma's inauguration.

The internet was awash with stories that she was prime minister Tsvangirai's 'new girlfriend'. It was later learnt that she was his niece. Dr Chihombori lives in the United States and practices family medicine in Antioch, Tennessee.

It is alleged that she has been actively trying to seize De Rus Farm from Mr L J Cremer since late last year.

According to online reports, Mr Cremer was first contacted in November 2008 by an unnamed Chegutu lands officer, who produced an offer letter dated August 2007 showing that De Rus farm had been allocated to Dr Chihombori.

"In January this year, Dr Chihombori sister sent a group of youths to take the farm, but the occupation only lasted three days, after which the youths left, complaining of not being paid enough," says an online source.

"In April, Dr Chihombori applied to the courts for an application to evict the Cremer family, producing the same offer letter as evidence, this time dated December 2008. Dr Chihombori visited De Rus Farm in May to see her 'new' property."

The Cremers grow cutflowers for export, as well as vegetables for the local market.

There are also plans to produce vegetable seedlings for the outgrowers of a processing company. The Cremers' neighbour, who used to produce the seedlings, has been evicted.

"It is very obvious that this acquisition is not about land reform," said Mr Cremer in a statement.

"How can this government ask for food aid while they are busy removing food producers from their farms? How can they justify the unemployment rate while they are removing 300 people from employment under the guise of Land Reform?

A small productive farm is being taken from Zimbabweans and given to someone who resides in America. It is about greed, people stealing our homes, land, jobs and livelihood and hiding behind politics. The only reason for evicting us must be race."

Dr Chihombori is married to a Ghanaian, also a doctor in the US. In 1992, she founded the Bell Family Medical Centre in Tennessee, of which she is the CEO.

She is also co-owner of the Mid-Tennessee Medical Associates, which is a multi-speciality clinic with 16 physicians.

In 1999 her company received US$750 000 from the World Bank to fund its involvement with the Torwood Hospital and Redcliff Medical Center in Kwekwe, which her company had taken over from Zisco, the troubled steel producer in the town.

TZG/ZWNEWS