A ZIMBABWEAN farmer, barricaded in his house since April 16, has for 20 days
running continued to resist efforts by war veterans to evict him, Zimbabwe’s
Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) reported on Sunday.
The union also said Shannon Wheeler’s Twin River Ranch in West Nicholson,
Matabeleland, was just one of a number of farms in the area that had
recently been decimated.
Jenni Williams, representative for the CFU said MP Kembo Mohadi had told
Zimbabweans on Independence Day to take over all the properties in the area,
including Wheeler’s.
Williams said Mohadi had erroneously referred to eviction notices in cases
of farms that had only been served with acquisition notices, such as
Wheelers.
”Eviction of the farmer can only be undertaken by the Ministry of Lands and
Agriculture after obtaining a valid order through the administrative court,”
Williams said.
Meanwhile, police who were summoned to Wheeler’s farm after the war veterans
assaulted his farm manager and confiscated his Land Rover, were equally
unhelpful, Williams said.
When district superintendent Madzingo arrived on the farm, he accused
Wheeler’s farm manager of being a ”white man’s puppet” and told him to greet
his brothers the war veterans. Madzingo even told Wheeler he was lucky to be
alive and that white farmers in Chikombe and Shamva were brutally beaten and
chased away immediately before fatalities occurred, Williams said.
Several farms in Matabeleland have recently been targeted by war veterans
who have, in the process, looted thousands of dollars worth of fruit and
vegetables.
The CFU said they had received reports indicating that Matabeleland Governor
Stephen Nkomo, Beit Bridge MP Kembo Mohadi and District Administrator,
Eddison Nhkanyiso Mbedzi had told police not to intervene in events that
were politically motivated. – Sapa