Devastated farm owner Guy Cartwright (68) ? who was not home when Mutinhiri, accompanied by war veterans, occupied his property ? served a restraining order on the former army official on Tuesday.
Cartwright, speaking to the Mail & Guardian from his hiding place in Harare this week, said he had been assured by the local land committee that deals with restitution issues that Mutinhiri had been warned about invading his property on Friday.
The land committee officials apparently also told Cartwright that should Mutinhiri, MP for Marondera West, go ahead with the occupation he would have to vacate his parliamentary seat.
Mutinhiri won the Marondera seat in a controversial by-election in November 2000, amid accusations that he had bought votes and intimidated the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters.
After his victory, in an interview with a local newspaper, Mutinhiri defended the forcible occupation of land, calling it a ?revolution, given that those without land are prepared to fight for it, while a minority group with it are resisting to part with it?.
Cartwright, who inherited his farm known as Waltondale from his father who bought it in 1934, said his property had not been designated for redistribution. The farm, which produces tobacco and maize and has 700 head of cattle, is estimated to be worth Zim$400-million, including its tobacco crop. ?All of which the brigadier has announced now belongs to him,? said a despondent Cartwright, who is a Zimbabwean citizen.
Cartwright said he had built homes with water and electricity for his workers, constructed a farming school attended by 400 children on his property and donated millions of dollars worth of medical equipment to the local hospital over the years. It was taken away in a flash when he went out for a drive with his wife last Saturday night.
While there were several reports last weekend concerning the forcible occupation of farms where the farmers had ties to the MDC, Cartwright had not been involved in politics.
However, Mutinhiri has allegedly accused Cartwright?s late father of being involved with the former minority-run regime.
Another farmer, Alistair Coulson, based in Esigodini near Bulawayo, told the M&G last month that he feared becoming the war veterans? target as he had actively campaigned for the MDC in the presidential elections.
?People like me have become exposed and are now vulnerable,? a disillusioned Coulson remarked after the outcome of the presidential poll.
This week Coulson and his family were forced to leave the farm that had been their home for the past 11 years. The Coulsons had been under siege since last week.
During the course of the week, after he has persuaded his family to leave, Coulson stayed on in his home to protect his workers.
In a show of solidarity with Coulson farmers in neighbouring areas also under siege remained behind. The M&G was unable to contact Coulson this week. However, Marc Crawford, president of the Matebeleland branch of the Commercial Farmers? Union, said that on Tuesday negotiations with the war veterans had failed. At the time of going to press, Coulson was preparing to move out of his home.
Crawford said farmers and farm workers who had assisted the MDC during last month?s presidential polls are increasingly becoming targets of the war veterans. Since the elections, Crawford said 10 cases of forcible occupation had been reported to him.
?I was prepared to spend the rest of my life here?
One of the world?s most successful black rhino breeding farms was occupied by war veterans last weekend in Turk Mine, located in the Bubi district of Matebeleland, and farm owner Richard Pascal was arrested for attempted murder, writes Jaspreet Kindra.
Pascal?s 22 000ha farm is home to 33 black rhino and has a breeding rate of 12 to 14% a year ? the highest for the highly endangered black rhino. War veterans began occupying portions of Pascal?s farm in February 2000. Last month they demanded that Pascal vacate the property and the rhino were confined to a smaller area. Since March 25 the rhino have been denied water as Pascal no longer has access to the water pump. Owing to the stressed conditions one of the rhino died two weeks ago.
On Monday, after being released on bail, Pascal realised he was homeless. While he was in the lock-up, war veterans took over his entire farm. Pascal describes the occupation as a betrayal of assurances given by the Zimbabwean Environment Ministry that farms devoted to breeding wildlife will not be taken over for redistribution.
Pascal?s ordeal began on Friday night, April 5, when war veterans broke into his home, ordering the farmer and his friends to leave.
With the help of some members of the police, Pascal managed to send the war veterans away. But they returned the next morning. When Pascal went down to address them, he was attacked by youths armed with spears, axes and catapults.
Pascal?s friends rushed to his rescue and fired shots into the air. By then the war veterans were firing stones from catapults. Pascal returned to his home to collect his gun and then fired more shots into the air to disperse the crowd.
The war veterans claimed that a bullet wounded one of their members and Pascal was arrested on murder charges.
Pascal believes the war veterans had the backing of certain policemen who were interested in rhino horns. When the rhino died two weeks ago, Pascal brought the National Parks officials in to collect the horn. He said the war veteran squatters got agitated that they had not been consulted as they had wanted the trophy fee for the animals.
Pascal bought his farm 15 years ago. Ten black rhino were brought into the farm as part of a government-backed initiative to save the endangered species. Since then South Africans, Americans and the British have pumped money into the farm as part of a two-pronged approach ? saving the wildlife and community development.
?I have already committed 4 000ha of my property for resettlement. I am a Zimbabwean citizen. I was quite prepared to spend the rest of my life here,? Pascal said.