Cyrene High School, a historic Anglican Church-run institution in Bulilima District just outside Bulawayo, is facing an escalating crisis after illegal settlers invaded its farm, stripping the land of its resources, threatening the school's livestock, infrastructure, and the safety of learners.
What began as a small encroachment in 2019, just before the Covid-19 pandemic, has now spiralled into full-scale occupation. The once-thriving school farm, which for decades sustained the institution through cattle ranching and crop production, is now a shadow of its former self, overrun by settlers who have cleared pastures, felled trees, and vandalised water systems.
The school's deputy headmaster and chaplain, Reverend Mthulisi Mvubu, said the invasion has crippled the school's farming operations and left the institution grappling with a severe shortage of grazing land.
"We had a herd of about 400 cattle, but we've been forced to downscale to 200 because there's simply no grazing land left. The settlers have taken over the paddocks and our livestock now compete with theirs for the little grass that remains," said Rev Mvubu.
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He said stock theft has also become rampant, with the school having lost several beasts to thieves who operate under the cover of the invasion.
The encroachment has turned what was once a peaceful learning environment into a zone of uncertainty. Learners and staff live in fear, as incidents of vandalism, stock theft, and suspected drug peddling rise sharply.
"The settlers are so daring that they have drilled boreholes right next to ours and even cut off our water supply to divert it for their livestock. It's a security crisis and we've had to restrict learner movement and lock certain access points to keep them safe," said Rev Mvubu.
The environmental toll is equally alarming. Large portions of the school's grazing land have been cleared for makeshift homesteads, while the institution's orchard has been destroyed through deforestation. The depletion of pasture has forced the school to buy stock feed, driving up operating costs and threatening the viability of its agricultural training programmes.
"Cyrene Mission has always been known for its self-sustaining farm and its contribution to agricultural education. Now, that legacy is under serious threat," lamented Rev Mvubu.
Parents are also growing increasingly anxious about their children's safety, leading to a noticeable decline in enrolment. Plans to expand the school into a mixed institution have stalled, as the land earmarked for girls' dormitories has been occupied by the settlers.
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Despite engaging the police and other Government departments, the situation continues unabated.
A visit by a Zimpapers news crew last week confirmed that much of the school's farmland has been taken over, with settlers coming from as far as Harare and even the diaspora, some allegedly acquiring land illegally through unscrupulous middlemen.
