STRANGER THAN FICTION: Is the hilltop mansion haunted?

Driving along Harare’s Kirkman Road can be very unpleasant.

Previously known as Old Bulawayo Road, this often busy road is riddled with potholes and becomes virtually impassible as one approaches Dzivaresekwa Extension.

As the road meanders towards Snake Park suburb, one’s attention shifts to a hill where an imposing mansion rises above all else.

Signs of past opulence are evident at this four-storey Spanish-style mansion, constructed on a farm using expensive imported material.

Though intriguing, the house is said to be haunted and there is a bone-chilling history to go with it.

The 27-roomed property was previously owned by a now deceased business tycoon of European origin and has not been occupied since 2001.

Zvimba Rural District Council has now assumed ownership.

The community claims ghost sightings are common and strange noises are heard in the basement – daily.

It is believed several people, among them senior Government officials, invariably occupied the house, but all left in a hurry.

Plans to convert the mansion into a hotel are also said to have been abandoned.

“It all began in 2001 when the farm was compulsorily acquired by Government. War veterans, who had temporarily set base at the farm, started telling people that strange things always happened there at night. Since then, this rumour has spread like veldfire,” says Mr Willis Banda, who has lived at the farm since 2000.

One account has war veterans sleeping in the mansion one night, but finding themselves outside when they awoke the following morning.

Their belongings were neatly packed and placed close to them, the story goes.

Another account involves a “vehicle” which was seen approaching the mansion at night.

The war veterans went outside to find out who the visitor was, but, strangely, there was no vehicle in the yard.

It is said the war veterans left as quickly as they could.

Further, a former caretaker at the mansion, who is now deceased, is said to have recounted how he heard mysterious sounds – footsteps and murmurs.

However, other claims border on the absurd; such as the one about an underground tunnel which links the mansion to another house in Mount Hampden, some 10km away.

Mr Lindo Tandi, the caretaker employed by the Zvimba council, says: “I know there are underground rooms here, but we do not know how to get to them. There are other rooms that we do not have access to.

“To be honest, I have never heard or come across any strange happenings in the three years that I have been guarding this mansion.”

Mr Urarayi Moyo, whose lives close by, also says he has not seen or heard anything strange.

“I have heard the rumours from other people. I have been here since 2001, but have never seen or heard anything like that,” Mr Moyo says.

The late owner’s family could not be reached for comment.

Is the mansion really haunted?

Whether it is or not will for a long time remain subject to intense debate.