About a hundred families were forcibly evicted by the police from two farms in Mazowe West constituency in Mashonaland Central province to pave way for the expansion of a game park and cattle ranch run by President Robert Mugabe’s wife Grace Mugabe.
Sources said the families, which had settled on the Arnold and Mbuya Nehanda farms at the height of the land reform program launched by Mr. Mugabe in 2001, were dumped in Concession in the same province, leaving their crops unharvested in the fields.
Mazowe West lawmaker Margaret Zinyemba of ZANU-PF, Mr. Mugabe's party, told VOA she was not in a position to comment as she had not been to the area to confirm the incident. She said a reporter should call back next Monday.
Police spokesman Oliver Mandipaka said he was on leave and referred a reporter to his deputy, Superintendent Andrew Phiri, who could not be reached.
But losing local House candidate Gilbert Kagodora of the Movement for Democratic Change formation of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai told VOA reporter Jonga Kandemiiri that the families were given eviction orders in November but had resisted moving.
