Settlers at a farm in Mazowe, once claimed by former first
lady Grace Mugabe, say there are fresh moves to remove them from the property,
a few years after they won the right to remain at their homes.
The villagers at Manzou Farm accused Mashonaland Central
Provincial minister Monica Mavhunga of orchestrating the renewed bid to evict
them.
They said people claiming to be government officials last
week gave them seven days to leave their homes.
“There are some people who came here on Thursday driving a
vehicle with government number plates warning us to leave the farm in seven
days,” said one of the villagers.
“However, they are failing to understand that even if we
are to move out, we still have crops in the fields and we have since built some
permanent structures.”
The villagers said they refused to sign eviction orders
brought by the unnamed officials.
“This is our home and we are not going anywhere. We took
over the farm from a white farmer named Arnold sometime back,” another villager
said.
“Police tried to evict us in 2015, but it didn’t work
although they destroyed our properties and crops.
“We thought after the removal of (former president Robert)
Mugabe things would work in our favour, but we were wrong.
“It will be unfair to remove many of us here and replace
everyone with one senior official. It is unfair and it will not work.”
For several years, the villagers were locked in a bitter
ownership wrangle with the former first family over the farm.
At one point, they went for years without proper shelter
after police razed down their homes.
Mavhunga said she did not know anything about the planned
evictions. “The villagers are the ones who can best explain their
situation,” she said. “They must go to the offices to seek help.”
The government has been evicting scores of people that
occupied commercial farms at the height of the controversial land reform
programme 19 years ago. Standard
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