81-year-old widow to be evicted today from plot she bought 45 years ago

Eighty-one-year-old Dorcas Makaya is likely to be evicted today from the plot that she bought 45 years ago if no one intervenes.

Mrs Makaya is one of four elderly plot holders likely to be evicted from their plots for failing to pay development costs by property developer Ferro Consulting which they are challenging.

Twelve plot holders bought the land at Irene Farm in the early 1980s but were not given title deeds pending the sale of the remainder of the farm.

Ferro Consulting bought the remainder of Irene Farm but has not transferred deeds to the plot holders.

The company won a court order in December 2024 that the plot holders must pay development costs before it could transfer deeds to them.

Six of the plot holders, representing seven plots, however, challenged the court decision but their application seeking the rescission of the court ruling was only filed on 11 June.

The development sent eviction notices to four of the plot holders on 12 June.

Lawyers for the plot holders filed an urgent application seeking a stay of execution on Monday, 22 June but Justice Dube-Banda ruled that the application was not urgent.

One of the plot holders was evicted yesterday.

Mrs Makaya, who turns 81 in September and three of her colleagues are next.

“I have nowhere to go,” she said last night. “I have been living here for the past 45 years.”

Mrs Makaya and her late husband Robert bought their plot on 10 April 1980, eight days before independence.

She was asked to pay development costs of US$47 213.25 by the developer to get her title deeds.

She bought the plot for Z$4 500 which at the time was equivalent to US$6 617.65 but translates to $25 817.27 today.

According to the developer, the development costs bore interest of 15% a year and accrued on a monthly basis. Any delayed payments incurred a penalty of 24% charged every 7th of the month. Mrs Makaya was supposed to pay US$1 000 a month to settle her debt.

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