New report says soldiers are stealing food from villagers under Operation Taguta

By Tererai Karimakwenda
06 April 2006

The Solidarity Peace Trust, a human rights NGO run by church leaders, has accused soldiers of taking maize and other crops illegally from villagers in Matabeleland and leaving them with very little or no food at all for themselves. Solidarity is chaired by Bishop Rubin Phillip, the Anglican Bishop of South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, and Catholic archbishop Pius Ncube. The army was put in charge of agriculture last year under what is known as Operation Taguta/Sisuthi or 'Operation Eat Well'. The idea was for soldiers to supervise and assist with the production of food, but some families interviewed by Solidarity in Bulawayo said they were promised payment by the GMB for their crops. The money never came and they were left with no food.

We contacted Bishop Phillip for confirmation of this tragic story and he said he had just spent 3 days in Bulawayo before returning home Monday evening. The bishop told us he had talked with people in Bulawayo who personally experienced this loss. He said the Trust had photographs of soldiers in the fields and videotaped statements from families who had been victimised by the army. Although the evidence in the latest report focuses on Bulawayo, it has been reported that Operation Taguta/Sisuthi is affecting Zimbabweans all around the country.

Asked just how it was being done, Bishop Phillip said the villagers are losing food that they grew on their own land. The soldiers are supposed to monitor agricultural activities and assist when possible, but they are then taking everything at harvest time. The Bishop said money is promised as payment for the crops taken by the army, but in many cases no payment has been made by the Grain Marketing Board.
The Bishop said the government is definitely aware of this development because it is an integral part of its policy. He said the real tragedy is that these people have already been denied so many other basic human rights by the government. He added that using food as a political weapon was unacceptable.
The full Solidarity Peace Trust report can be found on our website at www.swradioafrica.com