About 75 families at a farm near Marondera were last Wednesday left in the open after the messenger of court evicted them to pave way for a new land owner.
Riot police had to be called in to restore order as the families at the area known as KwaStovhoro clashed with officials from the Messenger of Court.
The clashes reportedly resulted in about 20 people being arrested. The families were eventually removed from the farm and were dumped at Mbuya Nehanda Hall in Dombotombo high-density suburb of Marondera where they are currently staying.
A representative of the families, Simon Mbumbwa, said they were kicked off the farm after being told that the property had been taken over by one Tudu.
“We had been living at Stovhoro since 2001. Most of us were workers at the farm until the white owner was evicted,” he said. “We were later told that the farm was now under Marondera urban and at some point we paid rates to council. We had resisted eviction until yesterday [Wednesday] when we were finally moved.”
Efforts to get comment from Marondera town clerk Josiah Musuwo were fruitless.
Meanwhile, a health time bomb is ticking at the hall because the ablution facilities are not enough for the large number of people there. — Jairos Saunyama
