A township child drinks from a communal tap sevicing the Imizamo Yethu community near Cape Town, on August 5. Quenching the planet's growing thirst is a huge task facing the Earth Summit on August 28. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings
Mugabe's wife Grace linked to mansion, white farm seizure in Zimbabwe [Full Text] HARARE, Zimbabwe - The fate of a white-owned farm and mansion reportedly seized for President Robert Mugabe's wife was still unclear after the former owners questioned Wednesday an official explanation the dream home, with luxury fittings and sweeping plate glass patio doors, will form the nucleus of a school and orphanage for deprived children.
John and Eva Matthews, forced off the farm last week, described the 26-room oak-beamed villa, with decorative wooden floors, imported lumber doors, period fireplaces and a paneled library and billiards room, as "the last place you'd want to convert into an orphanage."
Mrs. Matthews, aged in her 70s, said the couple handed over keys to members of Mugabe's staff after being told his wife wanted to inspect the property.
Gideon Gono, a prominent banker closely aligned to the government, told state television the farm was allocated to a private children's charity he heads, the Zimbabwe Children's Rehabilitation Trust.
Mugabe, 78, married his wife Grace, 37, a former presidential secretary, in 1996.
Gono said Mrs. Mugabe was the founder and patron of the charity and use of the 1,000 hectare (2,400 acre) Iron Mask Farm 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of Harare would not benefit her personally.
He said up to 1,000 vagrant children and orphans were to be accommodated and schooled there.
Matthews said the couple received an eviction order from the government under its program to confiscate white-owned farms.
She said two senior military officers warned them to leave the property earlier this month or her husband faced arrest for defying an Aug. 8 eviction deadline, along with 200 others arrested across the country for ignoring the deadline.
Neighbors then reported Mrs. Mugabe touring the district.
"We didn't see her ourselves. It was strange no one mentioned anything about an orphanage. We might have understood. Why didn't they approach us? You don't arrest someone if you are going to give the house to a charitable trust," Matthews said.
She said the billiards room could probably be used as a children's dormitory but extensive modifications would be required across the property.
The couple moved most of their 200 head of cattle off the property in the past week but militants and local officials kept about 40 animals "hostage" until 13 regular herdsmen and workers were paid severance packages, she said.
"We are working on that now" in Harare, Matthews said. No other activity had been reported on the property.
Since March 2000, the government has targeted 95 percent of white-owned land for allocation to landless blacks. Critics say many prime farms have gone to politicians, military and police officers and government cronies.
Last year, Grace Mugabe, who has several business interests, sold a mansion in north Harare nicknamed "Gracelands" after a court ruled she illegally used money to build it from a state home loans scheme for government employees.
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***Harare: Zimbabwe- Libya's President Muammar Gadaafi has bought up 20 houses in Zimbabwe which seem likely to be used as safe-houses for death squads supplied by the Libyan dictator as part of his plan to assist the man he sees as his embattled comrade in arms, President Robert Mugabe. In addition Gadaafi has bought Gracelands, the gigantic Harare mansion belonging to Grace Mugabe, the President's young wife. The house is now to become the Libyan Embassy, making it by far the biggest embassy building in Zimbabwe, dwarfing the British and American missions.*** Source: Gadaafi to supply Mugabe with death squads?