Six farmers from Arnold Farm 10 in Mazowe, Mashonaland Central, have been remanded in custody after a Concession magistrate denied them bail following their arrest in a dramatic pre-dawn police operation.
Four of the farmers — Shibha Munetsi (45), Floriana Nyarenga (60), Lazurus Chapendeka (60), and Yanayi Matema (57) — are facing charges of occupying gazetted land without authority, while two others, John Mapulanga (22) and Dereck Murenga (25), face trespassing charges.
Their defence lawyer, Nyasha Chiota, confirmed the magistrate’s ruling, revealing that the legal team has since lodged an urgent application at the High Court to overturn the bail decision.
“Unfortunately, they have all been denied bail,” Chiota told The Standard.
“It is concerning that individuals are being denied bail for minor, finable offences like trespassing. We have since approached the High Court for relief.”
The arrests followed a heavy-handed, early-morning operation last Monday, during which armed Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers reportedly stormed the disputed farm at around 5.00am.
According to witnesses, armed officers arrived in a heavy-duty UD truck and systematically targeted male occupants in a raid conducted without warning.
“A UD truckload came with armed police officers who rounded up men from their homes,” said a witness whose husband was among those detained.
“Everyone was ordered to surrender and force-marched into the truck”. While Mashonaland Central police spokesperson Milton Mundembe had yet to issue an official statement on the basis of the raid, community sources allege the operation was orchestrated to clear the land for a politically connected individual.
“I am still to get facts of what really happened,” Mundembe said.
Ownership of Arnold Farm 10—historically linked to interests associated with the former First Family—remains murky, with residents stating that no official offer letter has ever been presented to demonstrate legal title.
“We don’t know who the official owner is, and no offer letter has been shown to us,” one resident said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“We are victims of political influence because no one is standing up for our rights on this farm.”
Uncertainty over the land's control has heightened in recent months following local reports linking the son of a senior government official to the farm.
Residents say this latest operation is part of a recurring pattern of forced removals.
Previous eviction attempts saw families dumped along roadsides during the rainy season and deprived of basic necessities, including clean drinking water.
Arnold Farm 10, also known as Manzou Farm, has been a flashpoint for contested land rights for over a decade. Between 2015 and 2017, state security forces repeatedly demolished homes and evicted more than 200 families to pave the way for a proposed game sanctuary, despite multiple High Court interdicts barring removals without alternative settlement.
The human rights violations surrounding those evictions culminated in a July 2022 eviction of farmers by the police to pave the way for former First Lady Grace Mugabe’s planned game park.
A ruling at the Bindura magistrates court favoured the evictees.