Tinotenda Hove – At least 21 families were forcibly removed from the 1,245-hectare Arnold Farm, also known as Manzou Farm, near Mazowe Dam in Mashonaland Central, in an operation reportedly led by Vice-President Kembo Mohadi’s son, Mafenyadira.

The evictions, carried out on Monday, left families stranded along the Harare–Bindura Highway, with their belongings scattered and damaged. According to NewsDay, several of the affected residents described the ordeal as traumatic.

Pearson Tagara, one of the villagers, 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 heartbreaking.”

Tensions at the farm date back to December 2024, when over 300 villagers staged a protest against what they described as Mafenyadira Mohadi’s attempts to remove them from land they had lived on for years. The demonstrators accused him of using State security agents to intimidate them. In response, the villagers reportedly tore down a fence he had erected around the property.

Reports indicate that Mafenyadira later employed private security guards for night patrols, which led to several villagers being arrested for alleged trespassing.

Speaking through his cousin Hardlife Samuwi at the time, Mafenyadira defended his actions. Samuwi said, “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.”

This is not the first major eviction at the farm. In March 2017, police removed villagers, demolished homes, and destroyed crops to make way for a national monument and projects linked to former First Lady Grace Mugabe. The affected villagers, with the assistance of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, later secured a High Court order halting further evictions.