HARARE – A farmer whose maize crop was destroyed by a neighbour’s cattle has sued for US$20,000 compensation.
Gamanya Tapera, of Shayamano Farm in Chikomba, accuses cattle rancher neighbour Farai Masekela of deliberately letting loose his herd onto his maize fields on different days between December 2020 and May 2021.
As a result, he says his maize crop was completely destroyed and he had to replant.
In a lawsuit filed at the High Court this week, Tapera said: “Masekela intentionally, with malice, unlawfully grazed his huge herd of cattle in my maize fields. The actions of Masekela are wrongful and actionable at law.
“The crop damage assessment reports from Agritex showed that the total loss was Z$985,600 and Z$464,000 (about US$14,600 altogether) at Shayamano and Muhle fields respectively.”
Tapera said he further incurred expenses when he was forced to replant his crops that were damaged at a cost of US$3,952.
Masekela, who is a senior regulatory officer for the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe, is yet to respond to the lawsuit.
