THOUSANDS of residents of Turner Farm in Mt Hampden are facing displacement to pave way for the development of the new multi-million-dollar Zim Cyber City project, 26 kilometers northwest of Harare, investigations have revealed.
The cyber city, estimated to cost around US$60 billion when complete, will be part of Zimbabwe's proposed new administrative capital, also known as New Harare.
As a precursor to the evictions, the government exhumed about 1 000 graves between June and August, to pave way for the project.
The cyber city is being developed by United Arab Emirates-based industrial conglomerate Mulk International, which has injected an initial US$500 million.
It will consist of 250 townhouses, more than 80 luxury villas, a number of apartment blocks, high-tech office facilities, a 15-storey commercial tower, and landscaped gardens, covering 2.5 million square meters of land.
The construction will take place near the new parliament building whose construction was funded by the Chinese government.
The development of the cyber city has, however, left the community in panic and fear as they are facing eviction, relocation uncertainty and job losses.
In March this year, the Local Government ministry issued a notice giving Mt Hampden residents three months to prepare for the exhumation of graves.
"In terms of Section 38 (4b) (5) of the Cemeteries Act (Chapter 5:4), the Minister of Local Government and Public Works hereby gives notice of intention to remove human remains, memorials and monuments in the Mount Hampden area to pave way for the establishment of the Cyber City.
"Any person wishing to object to the proposed action may lodge a written objection within three months of publication of this notice to the Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Makombe Building, Corner Herbert Chitepo Avenue and Leopold Takawira Street, Harare," read the notice which was published in the government gazette and the Herald.
The exhumation process
Investigations by NewZimbabwe.com with support from Information for Development Trust (IDT) revealed that the notice came just after the government had denied allegations of the graves' removal, following a social media uproar concerning the matter.
The government has gone on to remove the graves, memorials and monuments, despite assuring residents it would not do so.
This reporter witnessed the exhumations in July after the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) identified 1 103 graves in the area. Most of the graves were unmarked.
Residents revealed a team of government officials asked them to identify their relatives' graves and make reburial arrangements.
Speaking in an interview with this publication before the reburials took place, the residents said the government team was going to dig the graves and offer only transport and a letter to present addressed to traditional leaders and other stakeholders where the reburials would take place.
"I was told if I wanted to take my relatives' remains to my rural area, I would need to make all the arrangements at my own expense except digging the grave and transporting the remains.
"For those with nowhere to rebury the remains of their loved ones, the government said it would bury them in Chief Zvimba's area," said Loveson Mandiranga, a community member whose two relatives were exhumed and reburied.
Zvimba is in Mashonaland West about 60km northwest of Harare. Chief Zvimba is a local traditional leader for the Zvimba East constituency, which incorporates Mt Hampden is located.
Mandiranga said he preferred taking his relatives' remains for reburial in Nyanga, where he originates but was incapacitated.
The exhumation was conducted by workers from the National Museum and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) after locals refused to participate in protest.
"The NMMZ asked for men from this community who could dig the graves as a way to give us employment, but no one was willing, and they had to bring their own guys for the job.
"They came and asked for able bodied men from this community to do the digging up, but no one agreed, and they had to find them somewhere," said Russel Nyamvura, a Mt Hampden resident, whose relative was also reburied.
Disgruntled community members said they were powerless to stop the government but are disappointed that their cultural practices were not followed during the exhumations and reburials.
"The authorities had promised us to come and conduct a proper cultural reburial ceremony. However, they did not. This goes against our cultural norms and beliefs. Where have you seen graves being exhumed without any relative of the deceased present?" asked another disgruntled community member Clever Paurosi.
"Most of the graves were unclaimed because the process was rushed. Many people with relatives buried here, but who are no longer staying in the area may not have received the message.
"They were digging and putting the remains of our relatives in plastic bags."
Some Mt Hampden residents also feared that their relatives were buried in mass graves.
NMMZ regional director Godhi Bvocho, however, dismissed the mass grave claims, saying the remains were reburied in a proper way.
"The 823 remains which we exhumed were each buried in separate graves and coffins. There was no mass grave and they were buried according to their relatives' culture. Each relative was given an opportunity to perform rituals before reburial," Bvocho said.
"A total of 1103 graves were identified and only 25 remains were claimed by relatives who buried them at places of their choice, 823 graves were reburied at Murombedzi cemetery (in Zvimba) and the remaining 255 graves had no human remains inside, maybe because some had lived way beyond recognition, and some were just soil heaps mistaken as graves since this was a very old cemetery."
Bvocho said most graves were not claimed because the majority of people buried there were farm workers originally from Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia.
From the early 1900s to the mid-1960s, many people migrated from Malawi (Nyasaland) to Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) for various reasons like seeking employment with higher wages.
Nyasaland, which like Zimbabwe was a British colony, was densely populated but not as economically developed as Zimbabwe, hence the movement of people in search of better paying work. Zimbabwe also attracted labourers from Mozambique and Zambia during the same period.
Potential eviction fears
Our investigations also uncovered that the community is leaving in fear of being evicted from the area as most of them have nowhere to go. Government confirmed the evictions would be affected.
Most of the community members were born in the area and have no other home.
Some residents have lived in the area since the 1950s.
Stima Sophia (85) started living in Mt Hampden in 1952 as a child. She was later married to one of the farm workers, who died 10 years ago.
"Where will I even go at this old age? Ten years after my husband died, what do you think I can do at this age? They should just let us be and stay here. I have lived here since I was a little girl, got married here and now if they want me to leave this place I do not know where I will go," Stima said.
Joyce Washamira, who has been staying in the area for decades, says Mt Hampden is the only home she knows.
"I started my family here. All my children were born here and they learnt at this school (Kuwadzana) community school. They are now all married. My husband passed on and I now have grandchildren and all this happened here. Where do I go," she asked.
"My husband was from Mozambique but I have never been there. I also do not have any rural area where I can go if they chase me away from this place."
Washamira's remains were exhumed and buried in Zvimba.
Another resident, Thomas Chihutu, said it was almost clear they will be moved given that graves have already been removed.
He said the community was in distress because of the looming evictions.
"I was born and raised here, and this is the place I call home, so where will I go? All my parents died here so where will I go? I have nowhere to go, neither do I have money to buy land," Chihutu said.
Zvimba East legislator, Decide Manhanzva confirmed that the residents could be moved. He, however, claimed adequate measures would be put in place to cushion them from the inconveniences coming with the intended displacements.
"We are aware that there are people who are going to be displaced because of the coming of the Cyber City. At this juncture, the government has not yet identified any place or area to relocate these people, so it is still work in progress.
"Once we have projects that need to be done on where they are staying, the government will make a plan for them," Manhazva said.
"President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government will never leave them without a place to stay as the mantra goes, leaving no one and no place behind."
Asked for a comment on what the future holds for the community, the local government ministry chief director for spatial planning and development, Shingirayi Mushamba, showed there was no clear plan yet to resettle the affected residents.
Government, he said, was still planning the displacements.
Mushamba said 301 former farmers who used to occupy part of the affected land had title deeds or lease agreements and were compensated, while some were still in the process of getting their compensation.
"There were 301 farmers with offer letters issued by the lands ministry, and these have been served letters formally by the ministry of land and letters of withdrawal of the offer for land for agriculture has been made for the 301 farmers," he said.
"The issue of relocation of families normally triggers a negative vibe from those affected. We have two groups affected here. The first group comprises former farm owners who were holding title deeds or 99-year leases.
"For this group, the government has instituted processes of formal valuations of the improvements that were made by the former farm owners, and these people have been compensated for improvements made on the farms. Those who had title deeds have been compensated or are still being compensated for both the land and improvements on the land," he said.
Mushamba added that the government would find a place to settle residents without title deeds or lease agreements.
He said the affected residents would have been moved by mid-2025.
"The second group of the affected are those people who were working as farm workers for former white farm owners or the 99-year lease holders (resettled under the fast-track land redistribution programme).
"Those are the people that the government is now seized with in terms of how best to empower them so that they can earn a livelihood elsewhere outside the new city in Mt Hampden," he said.
"The reason they are still on these farms is that the government is continuously reviewing the planning and framework for managing how those people can be assisted.
"Although they do not have a legitimate claim in terms of land ownership, either in the form of a title deed or 99-year lease, we recognise them as citizens of the country and people who were contributing to the farming economy.
"Right now, there are ways and means that are being defined so that when they are relocated from the new city in Mt Hampden, they are actually empowered and placed in areas where they can continue to earn a living," he added.
"What I can assure you is that, by the time we get to as early as 2025, second or third quarter, those processes would have occurred because the developments have already commenced, and we do not want any disturbances because there are people still staying on the land.
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"So, we are looking at the next six to nine months. We will take all the necessary measures to ensure all the families are relocated elsewhere where they will derive a life," said Mashamba.
Loss of employment
Cultural violations regarding the graves and impending evictions aside, the thousands of community members will lose jobs as the biggest company in that area, Prawell Bricks, faces closure.
Prawell Bricks is a Chinese-owned company operating at a commercial level.
Workers say they were given a four month verbal notice after the company was ordered to vacate its premises as the government prepares the land for the cyber city.
"Our days are numbered here. The company is about to close down and our contracts will expire soon. They did not tell us why they are closing, but we hear this land now belongs to some Arab guys who are developing the area," said one of the workers, Edward Dhliwayo.
Despite earning less than US$200 per month, workers say they will be left more vulnerable if they lose their jobs.
"The money I earn here is not much. My monthly take home is around US$180. However, it is better than not having anything to do at all," said Blessing Mbanje who also works at Prawell bricks.
Women are particularly anxious about the future.
"The job losses will come with a lot of problems. We will not have a place to stay and our children will also be affected. We will not even afford food to give them, not to mention paying for their education. I have six children and they have to go to school, what will I do with them" said Theresa Chigoma, also a worker at Prawell Bricks.
An official from Prawell Bricks, however, denied shutting down allegations, saying no one was given a notice and also said the company was not seizing operations.
"We are not closing down, we are not going anywhere. The workers committee met with the director and were told that if there are any developments of that sort, everyone will be told. We actually built a new plant, and we are not going anywhere.
"Even the claims that this land was now repossessed by the government for the Zim Cyber City project are all rumors and we have not been told," one of Prawell Bricks management team who preferred anonymity said.
This is despite the local government confirming the land in that area now belongs to the government after those who had title deeds and leases were served with formal notices to vacate.
"President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government identified land in Mashonaland West and Mashonaland Central and combined we have a total of 15 500 hectares earmarked for the new city in Mt Hampden, so essentially what it means is in as far as the state is concerned, the land in Mt Hampden is now vacant and all the land belongs to the state and any land of the state belongs to the President," Mushamba said.
Some community members believe the Prawell Bricks was planning to shut down and leave its employees without giving them their redundancy packages.
