It was leased to the ZANU/ZANLA organisation of Zimbabwe which made it their (then) forward, or main, operating headquarters for war against Rhodesia. New Farm was a political and military hub rolled into one and would have included some family members of the camp's military and political occupants. Writing in the Zimbabwe government-owned Sunday Mail [4] Garikai Mazara mentioned the existence of 20 mass graves related to the battles of 23–25 November 1977 and detailed the constituent parts of this camp.