More farm violence and looting as soldiers ignore court orders

Gerry Jackson
29 September, 2009

The Swiss government have cleared Nestle of any wrong doing over the fact that the company trades with Grace Mugabe. The disingenuous argument being used is that the Swiss regulations that bar trade with the Mugabes, only apply to companies in Switzerland, and not subsidiaries in other parts of the world.
But the fact is the illegal theft and plunder of farms has been the biggest factor in the destruction of Zimbabwe’s economy – and Grace, her husband and the rest of the ruling elite are directly responsible for this. And the destruction is continuing at an escalating pace due to a mad scramble for the last remaining big farming businesses.

One farmer who has been on the receiving end of the madness for years now is Charles Lock of Karori farm in the Headlands district. His farm workers have been beaten shot, starved and evicted, despite numerous High Court orders and contempt of court orders, issued against the land invaders. Nearly a million dollars worth of crops have been stolen, that same amount in equipment has been looted. But the main problem for Charles Lock is that it is the army behind this theft, soldiers under the control of Brigadier General Mujaji.
This past weekend the violence intensified against Lock and his farm labourers. Having obtained yet another court order allowing him to remove his crops and equipment from his farm, Lock went with the messenger of the court and 3 police officers to serve the order on the soldiers. But the soldiers just threatened to kill Lock right in front of the police. Then on Sunday Mujaji stole the farm diesel and using Lock’s own tractors set about evicting all senior staff from the farm, and then drove off all the workers, who are now scattered by the roadsides with no food or shelter. Mujaji has so far stolen 300 tons of maize and 150 tons of tobacco, despite High Court orders to stop him. The tobacco was grown under contract and financed by international tobacco companies.

In an interview with SW Radio Africa Lock said he had no idea what to do next. The police can or will do nothing, the court orders are ignored and the military are a law unto themselves. He said as far as he could see a military coup has taken place in Zimbabwe.

A military coup is described as ‘the sudden overthrow and seizure of a government by the military’. But in Zimbabwe’s case there is a government that encourages the military to ignore the rule of law and the military is fully behind the illegal activities of the government.

There may be a ‘unity government’ and a Global Political Agreement that is supposed to ensure the rule of law – but it’s clear to everyone now that this is a unity government in name only. The MDC members have absolutely no power – and seemingly little will to make an issue over the final destruction of Zimbabwe’s farms, and the misery that continues to be created for the tens of thousands of farm workers in this year alone, who have lost their livelihoods and any hope of a future.