FORMER Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono’s double-storey house in Borrowdale Brooke was yesterday extensively damaged after it caught fire, which destroyed property worth more than $50 000.
BY MOSES MATENGA
The cause of the fire could not be immediately established with the farm manager Morgan Zulu saying they were waiting for police investigations.
When NewsDay visited the thatched property in the leafy suburb, the fire brigade crew was trying to control the fire which had already extensively damaged the property.
Three vehicles from the fire brigade were on the scene trying to put out the fire including one donated by Peter Lobels in honour of the late former army general Solomon Mujuru.
“As you noticed, there was high wind today and it is alleged there was an electrical fault at one of the power lines down there. Due to the wind, the fire flew on top of the thatched roof,” Zulu said. “We cannot, however, conclude what caused the fire as we are making a police report and we await their investigations. It was a big, nice house, about nine rooms. I used to stay here and I was planning to move in here again.”
When the fire broke out, Gono was reportedly busy harvesting maize and soya at his New Donnington Farm in Norton.
Later, he said he had been informed by his management that property worth thousands of dollars had been gutted by fire.
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“The house was burnt while I was busy harvesting my maize and soya, so it’s news to me.The house that was burnt is just a few metres away from our grandparent birds, the most valuable component of my integrated poultry farming project,” Gono said.
“It remains a mystery that the birds were spared, thanks to the swift reaction of the Harare Fire Brigade. As for the cause of the fire, I can’t comment further because I have not been given a full report by my management or those who attended to the fire, but I thank everyone who was involved.”
The house is part of Gono’s Lunar Chickens plot, a breeder land. However, informed sources claimed that foul play could not be ruled out as there were top Zanu PF officials out to politically and financially cripple the former central bank boss.
This is not the first time Gono’s property has been gutted by fire. In 2013, property worth about $30 000 was destroyed when fire gutted facilities at his chicken farm in Harare.
