At least 21 families have been evicted from the 1,245-hectare Arnold Farm, also known as Manzou Farm, near the picturesque Mazowe Dam in Mashonaland Central Province, in an operation reportedly instigated by Vice-President Kembo Mohadi’s son, Mafenyadira.
The eviction, carried out on Monday, left the families stranded along the Harare–Bindura Highway, their belongings scattered and damaged.
Several victims who spoke to NewsDay described a harrowing experience, saying they were given only a few minutes to gather their possessions before their homes were torched. One of the affected villagers, Pearson Tagara, said:
“The eviction was so cruel. We were told to remove our property within minutes.
“This resulted in furniture like kitchen units, wardrobes and beds being damaged as we rushed to move. It’s heart breaking.”
In December 2024, tensions flared at the farm when more than 300 villagers staged a protest against what they described as moves by Mafenyadira Mohadi to evict them from the land they had occupied for years.
The demonstrators accused Mafenyadira of deploying State security agents to intimidate them. Undeterred, the villagers reportedly tore down a fence he had erected around the property.
It was further reported that Mafenyadira later hired private security guards to carry out night patrols, leading to several villagers being arrested on allegations of trespassing.
In an interview with NewsDay that same month, Mafenyadira, speaking through his cousin Hardlife Samuwi, confirmed the violent confrontations with the villagers. Said Samuwi:
“I understand that violent illegal settlers at Old Arnold Farm in Mazowe demonstrated, vandalised property and harmed security guards at Vice-President Mohadi’s son’s place over a farm he was allocated by the Ministry of Lands.
“Our farm hand had his hand broken by these illegal settlers.”
In March 2017, police evicted villagers from the farm, demolishing homes and destroying crops to pave the way for a national monument and projects linked to former First Lady Grace Mugabe.
The villagers, assisted by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, later won a High Court order stopping the evictions.
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