HIGH Court judge Justice Owen Tagu has resolved a four-year-old land impasse between a Harare property developer, Sunshine Development (Pvt) Ltd and an invader, Phineas Molesen, who had taken over the firm’s land to develop residential stands. BY CHARLES LAITON The land in question is identified in the court papers as stand 19608 Arcadia Township of Salisbury lands measuring 308624 hectares held under deed number 7802/2008 dated November 3, 2008. According to court papers, sometime in November 2016, Molesen invaded the land with a grader and started marking residential stands on the property. Sunshine Development (Pvt) Ltd authorities filed a police report, but Molesen threatened to bring a mob to the site. This then prompted the property developer to approach the High Court, which ruled against Molesen on October 14, 2020. “Whereupon, after reading documents filed of record and hearing counsel, it is ordered that; the respondent (Phineas Molesen) and all those claiming right through him be and are hereby interdicted from performing any act or conduct to do with the development and/or management of the applicant’s (Sunshine Development) property being a certain piece of land situate in the district of Salisbury known as stand 19608 Arcadia Township of Salisbury lands measuring 308624 hectares held under deed number 7802/2008 in favour of Sunshine Development (Pvt) Ltd dated November 3, 2008,” Justice Tagu ruled. “The respondent shall pay costs of this application on attorney and client scale.” In his founding affidavit filed alongside the application, Sunshine Development (Pvt) Ltd managing director, Mike Van Blerk, said when Molesen invaded the land it had not been developed and the same had not been given to anyone for use. “The applicant’s property is not yet developed but the applicant has not given any person use and enjoyment of the same. However, the respondent has invaded the property without applicant’s blessings and started bringing graders to the site,” Blerk said. “In a typical show of lawlessness and bullish attitude, the respondent has forcefully and unlawfully invaded the applicant’s property without applicant’s blessings and is up to no good as he has proceeded to bring grading machinery with a calculated agenda to unlawfully parcel out stands in order to fraudulently sell the stands to the unsuspecting public…further the respondent has been marking stands on the property with a view to sell to unsuspecting public and to a possible irreparable damage to the applicant.” Blerk further said upon being confronted, Molesen “became aggressive and threatened to bring a mob with him”.