Stranded families blame their plight on corrupt Zanu-PF bigwigs

Dozens of families left homeless after the demolition of homes at Willdale Farm in Zvimba East say alleged corruption involving government officials and Zanu-PF local leaders is worsening their suffering and delaying their relocation.

For more than a week, the displaced families have been stranded along the Harare–Chirundu Highway, many without food, shelter, toilets, or clean water. Some are sleeping in the open, while others are using nearby bushes as makeshift toilets as heavy rains continue to pound the area.

The evictions, conducted in the early hours of last Friday, targeted informal and peri-urban settlements whose occupants had lived on the land since the land reform programme in 2000. During the operation, household items - including mattresses, beds, wardrobes and clothing - were loaded onto trucks and dumped along the highway.

Authorities say the evicted families are meant to be temporarily relocated to Nyabira Farm.

Zvimba East Member of Parliament Kudakwashe Mananzva confirmed that assistance was being provided through the Zvimba Rural District Council and the Civil Protection Unit (CPU).
"Efforts to drill boreholes are underway to provide clean water for the displaced families," Mananzva said.

Despite assurances from authorities, many displaced residents accuse politicians and officials of manipulating relocation lists to benefit relatives and politically connected individuals.

"The disturbing issue is that those being relocated are not genuine victims of the mass evictions, but people being smuggled in by politicians," said Charity Semwayo, one of the first residents to be evicted.

Another resident, Mavis Muroyiwa, echoed the concern.

"Names were written, but no help is coming. We see people we don't even know being moved to the new site. There is corruption in the whole exercise. Those with children and the elderly are being left out," she said.

Hunger has emerged as the biggest threat.

"We are starving," said elderly resident Joseph Jimu. "The little food we had is finished. Even if they relocate us now, we will die of hunger."

Zanu-PF local leader in Mt Hampden, Wonder Sigauke - also among the evicted - described the situation as dire.

"There is no shelter and no food. Children and women are suffering the most," he said.

A site visit revealed women bathing in the open at night, children playing dangerously close to the highway, and families huddling under makeshift structures.

Many residents say they lost birth certificates, national identity cards and other key documents during the demolitions, alleging that police and the messenger of court denied them time to remove their belongings.

A mother of four, Tarisai Chatsamwa, said, "I lost my identity documents and the birth certificates of all my children. We appeal to the Registrar-General's Office to come here and help us."

Zvimba District Development Coordinator and CPU chairperson, Joseph Manyurapasi, acknowledged irregularities in the relocation process.

"In situations like this, chancers try to benefit at the expense of genuine victims," he said, adding that so far around 600 people had been recorded at the temporary site in Nyabira.

He said authorities had previously been assured by Willdale management that no evictions would take place during the rainy season.

MP Mananzva estimated the total number of affected residents to be more than 5,000 scattered across three settlements on the farm.

"It's devastating to see children and mothers in the open without food and shelter," he said.

Former Zanu-PF district coordinating committee member Solomon Nasho condemned the evictions, alleging political motives.

"In our view, their eviction is political, driven by people who do not want to see Zanu-PF winning Zvimba East in the next elections," he claimed, appealing for President Emmerson Mnangagwa's intervention.

Efforts to get comment from Willdale management were unsuccessful.

The evictions are reportedly intended to pave the way for the Zim Cyber City project, a multi-million-dollar development initiative. However, authorities have not provided clear communication about the future of the affected families, deepening anxiety and frustration.

The Willdale Farm evictions follow a pattern of forced displacements across the country that have drawn condemnation from human rights groups.

In November last year, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) represented villagers arrested for allegedly occupying gazetted land without lawful authority. The organisation has argued that many such evictions violate section 74 of the Constitution, which protects citizens from arbitrary eviction.

ZLHR criticised government authorities for what it described as "insensitive and callous" displacement of vulnerable people, saying the actions amounted to degrading treatment.

"It is prudent for both the local and central government to invest efforts and resources in creating a stable, safe and just society… rather than perpetuating injustice," ZLHR said in a statement. It urged authorities to prevent settlement in undesignated areas before structures are erected, rather than demolishing homes without due process.

As the crisis deepens, thousands of families across Zimbabwe continue to face uncertainty - and in Zvimba East, the residents of Willdale Farm wait in the rain for answers, shelter and food.