Grace Mugabe grabs 1 600 ha of land

Zimbabwe's First Lady Grace Mugabe has grabbed 1 600 hectares of land from a prime farm on the
outskirts of the capital Harare, triggering a fresh high profile land row.
However, authorities have defended the First Lady's land grab claiming she needed more space to expand her orphanage.
President Robert Mugabe's wife, Grace has a sprawling orphanage and a school named Amai Mugabe Junior School located in the prime farming area of Mazoe.
Government officials say Grace needed more land for the expansion of her school, which has an initial enrolment of just 97.
A listed company, Interfresh owns the orange farming land that Grace has taken over.
Some of the company's workers are said to have also been taken over by the First Lady.
In a statement on Tuesday, Interfresh confirmed losing land in Mazowe, saying the Lands Ministry had designated the property.
"Shareholders are advised that the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement has advised the company that a portion measuring 1 5997 hectares, which was part of Mazoe Citrus Estate, has been allocated to another party," company secretary, Tawanda Namusi said.
In their statement, Interfresh said the portion allocated represented 46% of Mazoe Citrus Estate's total arable land, 30% of its budgeted revenue for the financial year 2013 and 52% of the value of immovable and biological assets.
They have since lodged an appeal with the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement.
The takeover could throw hundreds of farm labourers onto the streets and cut supplies for downstream industries, which rely on citrus syrup extracted from the estate.
Interfresh has been traditionally a key supplier of citrus syrup for some of the country's beverage makers.
Grace has often been accused of grabbing land and property with impunity because of her high rank.
Last October, Grace was quoted saying "The primary school we are building is through a US$7 million grant that I got from the Chinese after I went there to study their language.
They said you are the only First Lady who has come to learn Mandarin, so we will honour you". - the african report