Remaining white commercial farmers given 24 hours to leave

By Tererai Karimakwenda
May 07, 2008

We received reports on Wednesday that hundreds of farm workers and their families have appeared by the roadsides near commercial farms outside of Harare. This coincides with reports from around the country that remaining farmers are being given 24 hours to vacate their properties.

Farmer Ben Gilpen from Justice for Agriculture, which represents evicted farmers, told us that many farmers and farm workers have been evicted in the Concession and Greendale areas outside Harare. The farm workers have nowhere to go and most are in hiding by the roadside without shelter, food or running water.

Gilpen said there has been an increase in the number of eviction orders in the last couple of days. Out of the 300 commercial farms left in the country, he believes that about 200 have had incidents since the March 29 elections.

Most of the evictions are linked to a so-called ‘political re-education’ campaign that is being carried out by the government. Gangs of ruling party youths, soldiers and resettled farmers are being used to target those areas where the opposition parties defeated the ruling party in the elections. The affected farms have not all being re-occupied. Gilpen said that it appears the government is making way for some political activity and they are making sure there is no one in those areas to witness or report on it.

Other reports on Wednesday came from Chegutu and Masvingo, where more farm workers were displaced. On a farm in Chegutu workers are being stopped from feeding the livestock or providing water. Many animals are dying in terrible conditions. Cows on a dairy farm in the area are not being fed or milked.

Our correspondent Lionel Saungweme also reported that a group of so-called war veterans, led by a thug named Kicker Ncube, invaded a farm in Figtree owned by a Mr Knot. Saungweme said Ncube works for Obert Mpofu, the MP for the Nyamandlovu area, where farmer Wayne Munroe and his family were barricaded and farm workers were beaten last week.

It appears the government has intensified their campaign to evict the remaining white farmers, and are combining this with their campaign of political intimidation ahead of the presidential runoff that they are pushing for.