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News
14th December 2000

I'm sorry I don't have time for a full update tonight, but would just like you all to see the latest news.

Another white farmer, Henry Elsworth, aged 70, has been murdered at the gate to his farm. He was gunned down at point blank range. His son, Ian, was shot, and is recovering in the Avenues Clinic in Harare. You can link to the full story in our Daily News here.

Mugabe tells blacks to "strike fear" in whites.
Read all about it here.

War vets plan to attack Judges. Read more here.

Friday 15th December 2000
I had not planned on updating for the rest of this week, and was going to do an update before we left for Nyanga, but circumstances have forced me to have my say before then. I really need to comment on what is happening here at the moment.
Mugabe’s latest statement boggles the mind ! He stood in front of almost 8000 people at the opening of the ZanuPF annual congress, and openly encouraged them to instill fear into the whites. This is a shocking statement coming from anyone, but the fact that it came from the President of a country, a President who supposedly fought for democracy and human rights, is beyond belief ! In his speech, he accused us…ME…of sabotaging the economy because I want to help remove his party from power. He said that whites…ME…controlled all facets of the economy, and that we…ME…are conspiring to kick out his government by creating unemployment and forcing price increases of most basic commodities. He said the whites…ME…were closing their factories and companies in order to sabotage the economy. He said “They think because they are white they have a divine right to our resources. Not here. Never again.” He said “We have an economy which largely excludes and exiles our people, while reposing all the power and control into the hands of a tiny racial minority, and a minority of colonial origins”. He also said “The white man is not indigenous to Africa. Africa is for Africans”. I have said it before and I will say it again. I am sick and tired of being blamed for the mismanagement, corruption etc. of the last 20 years. Mr Mugabe did not become the President of this country last week, last month, or even last year. He and his party came to power on the 18th April 1980, twenty years ago – but I am still being used as a scapegoat for all his woes. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH ! He has had 20 years to right the wrongs done to the black people of this country. Even before Independence in 1980, aid was pouring into this country at a terrific rate. It continued to pour into the country for 19 years. Britain supplied funds for land redistribution years ago, and to whom was the land distributed ? – an elite group of favoured men, who have done nothing but sit back on their fat backsides and reap what they never sowed in the first place. I AM ANGRY ! My husband and friends keep telling me to calm down, it’s just another ploy to gather his voters, encourage the war vets etc. I don’t care what it is. It makes me livid ! This constant blaming of the whites, is obviously designed to relieve Mugabe and ZanuPF of the responsibility of their actions. I assume the constant threatening is meant to wear us down. What exactly does Mr Mugabe hope to achieve by all of this ? Does he honestly want every single white man, woman & child to leave Zimbabwe ? This seems to be the case. I do think he honestly believes that we are the force behind the new Movement for Democratic Change, the MDC, whose opposition has knocked the wind out of him. He cannot comprehend that his people could be dissatisfied with his rule. He has to believe that we, the whites are the ones who are stirring up the opposition. If he does not believe this, what is his alternative ? He would then have to believe that his people are against him, and this is beyond him. He has reminded us constantly over the last few months, and continues to remind us that HE was the leader of the Liberation Struggle that freed the people of their white oppressors, and brought them to Independence. With his latest statements, he has shown himself to be what he truly is – a racist of no mean proportions. He has claimed, in the past, (and I used to believe him, in the past), that he fought this very thing - racism - in the struggle to liberate the people of Zimbabwe. Here he is, twenty years on, practicing the very thing he fought against. Encouraging the majority to take part in racism against a minority group goes against everything he once fought for. It causes me to wonder what his motives really were when he set out on the path to the Liberation of his people. When did the goal posts move ? When did he realize that power was the end, and that the end justifies the means ? When did he discover, whilst preaching Marxism, that wealth was to be accumulated, no matter the cost - to people, to property, to state ? When will this sorry mess be over ?

Tuesday 12^th December 2000

Thanks for linking to the new News page. The format for the last page (page 4) just wasn’t suitable so I have moved on to THIS format. (We live and learn).

I have, once again, been very busy this last week. As the festive season draws nearer, invitations come in from all over the place. Our current situation does not seem to have stopped folk from planning to enjoy themselves in the next few weeks. And who can blame them. It has been a miserable year for all of us.

I would like to think that we will all give SOMETHING to those less fortunate than ourselves, whether it be time, money, groceries, or whatever. I really have learned to be grateful for everything I have. It could all be gone at a moment’s notice. This fact has never been as clear as it has in the last few month’s, with Mugabe threatening whites, and the insecurity we all feel. Yes, we have made the decision to stay here, and we are staying until we are forced to leave, but none of us, it seems, can predict what the future holds for us here.

The country seems to be just ticking over, businesses continue to close on a daily basis, fuel is scarce, prices rise, intimidation continues. I could go on and on, but feel I am beginning to sound like a stuck record (anyone remember those ?). However, there are a few things worth mentioning.

President Mugabe decreed, at the weekend, that it is now ILLEGAL for anyone to contest the June Parliamentary elections !!! You may recall that many of the MDC candidates are contesting the results in their constituencies. Mr Sternford Moyo, President of the Law Society of Zimbabwe said Mugabe's action showed “a surprising and blatant disdain for fundamental principles of natural justice. In terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, judicial authority vests in the Judiciary. The Executive exercises executive powers and not judicial authority." The Law Society represents 800 lawyers in the country. The Decree declared invalid all pending litigation challenging the June election results, saying the cases were sponsored by unnamed external enemies of Zimbabwe keen to cause instability. Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC president, yesterday said his party would go ahead with the cases.
”The government has once again demonstrated that it is not committed to a democratic process of elections,” he said. “It is openly defying the law and continually shifting the goal posts to suit itself. As a party, we are going to challenge this and we are certainly going to contest the results of the 38 seats”.
Tsvangirai said Zanu PF should not be allowed to be a contestant and a referee at the same time.
”In America today, people are using the courts to challenge a crucial election, but in Zimbabwe we have a President who nullifies the other party before you even go to the court. It is a warped thinking of democracy,” he said. We wait to see what happens this one.

Shuvai Mahofa, the Deputy Minister of Youth Development, Gender and Employment Creation, has a farm, Munenga Farm, in a lush & fertile area 30 kms from Harare. The farm was originally earmarked for resettlement, and land redistribution, but now we find that it has been subdivided into small plots which are being sold for $1,5 million each. This was reported in the Daily News. How did this farm get de-listed ? I smell a rat !

Below is an article printed by our Financial Gazette on the 7^th December 2000. It’s very interesting.

Mob rule beckons as rule of law is trashed

THE ruling ZANU PF party last week revealed that it had already spent the contested $30 million given to it under the Political Parties (Finance) Act which the High Court had earlier ordered the party to deposit with the court.

In the same week, a Cabinet minister said the government would not move against its supporters who have seized private farms because two Supreme Court rulings on the issue did not constitute an eviction order.

In Masvingo, an army of police officers with AK assault rifles rapidly deployed on the city’s streets immediately after word got out that the opposition Movement for Democratic Change could be about to stage an anti-government protest there.

These incidents and others before it such as the two High Court rulings on the farm crisis that were ignored by the authorities increasingly show that the government and ZANU PF no longer obey the law.

In fact, they know no law and are daily doing anything and everything to undermine the very foundations of civilised governance, exposing Zimbabwe to the anarchy that has blighted much of post-independent Africa in the past four decades.

That public protests by anyone other than ZANU PF members should be crushed by brute force demonstrates not just a crude denial of people’s basic freedoms that are enshrined in the constitution but a tragic collapse of the rule of law.

In its quest to remain in power against the popular will of the people, ZANU PF is increasingly and unashamedly turning instruments of the state which are funded by the public into partisan and nefarious tools of repression.

Witness the brute force used to cow urban residents after the June general election and the forceful response of the security forces during the food riots three years ago and earlier this year.

We are not saying that lawlessness by criminals who take advantage of such protests should not be punished, but there is no place for brute force or high-handedness against innocent civilians in a democracy.

Defence Minister Moven Mahachi please note. You simply cannot trash the rights of people in defence of unpopular policies.

ZANU PF and its leaders must quickly pull themselves back from this tragic and dangerous path that they have chosen or they will face the full wrath of the people.

The ruling party cannot and must not be allowed to become a law unto itself nor can it behave as if any means justifies its continued stay in power, as it is doing.

ZANU PF can simply not hold the entire nation to ransom in defence of its failed economic record and political recklessness.

The almost weekly vilification of the courts by the party and its senior cadres — witness the weekend demands to sack the judiciary by the war veterans — not only undermines the judiciary and its work; it places Zimbabwe firmly among pariah states where court rulings mean absolutely nothing.

While it may now seem politically expedient for ZANU PF to unleash mobs of political thugs and criminals on defenceless people, the time may soon come when these hoodlums will turn their guns on the party itself, encouraged that lawlessness has become Zimbabwe’s sine qua non.

When that happens, there will be no turning back and no one should ever say they were not warned.

But then ZANU PF is more than determined to fight to the death to go down with the country if the party itself is not in power. It wants to leave ruins and chaos for whoever takes over after it.

Zimbabweans must refuse to be bullied and terrorised this way. ZANU PF does not own Zimbabwe and no party does. The country belongs to all its people, who are the only supreme arbiters on hiring and firing a government.

I have copied in an email I received below this paragraph. This is a genuine question from someone who is concerned about the land situation, and deserves a serious answer. Below it, I have given a brief overview of the history of the land ! (Please link to the original article on the BBC website here.

“Hello. I do not want to be an apologist for Mugabe - he and his elites have done many things wrong - but don't the white farmers own about 80% of the prime land? And where was all this Aid over the years when it could've been
used to set up a system to make sure it got to these farmers.”

The Land Question in Zimbabwe

Introduction

When Robert Mugabe came to power in 1980 he promised he would give white-owned land to the blacks. Yet 20 years on, 4,500 white farmers still own 70% of the best land. What happened to Mugabe’s promise, and why has land become the focus of violence now?

Before the Settlers

When the first whites arrived in 1890, the land between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers was populated by the Shona and the Ndebele people, who claimed sovereignty. It is thought the Shona had been there for about 1,000 years. The Ndebele arrived in the 1830s, having migrated north from Natal after falling out with the Zulu King. In 1889, the imperialist Cecil Rhodes, who had made a fortune in diamond mining in the Cape, set up the British South Africa Company to explore north of the Limpopo. He had already obtained exclusive mining rights from the Ndebele king, Lobengula, in return for £100 a month, 1,000 rifles, 10,000 rounds of ammunition, and a riverboat. As far as Lobengula was concerned he had not conferred land rights. The first 200 settlers were each promised a 3,000-acre farm and gold claims in return for carving a path through Mashonaland. The Shona were too fragmented to resist and the British flag was raised at Fort Salisbury on 13 September 1890. The name Rhodesia was adopted in 1895. It became the British colony of Southern Rhodesia in 1923.

Colonisation

Three years after the pioneers arrived in Mashonaland, they conquered King Lobengula and his people in neighbouring Matabeleland. Each volunteer in the war was granted 6,000 acres of captured land. Within a year 10,000 square miles around Lobengula’s capital Bulawayo had been marked out. Ndebele villagers who returned were treated as tenants. Most of their cattle were seized and they were forced to work on the white farms. In Mashonaland, the settlers imposed a ‘hut tax’ of 10 shillings (50p). Those who could not pay were told to work to earn the money. When the Ndebele and Shona rebelled in 1896, they were put down and their leaders hanged. As the settlers developed commercial farming, some lands were reserved for African occupation amid fears total dispossession could lead to uprisings. But the Land Apportionment Act of 1930 barred African land ownership outside the reserves, except in a special freehold purchase area. Africans not needed for labour on white farms were removed to the reserves, which became increasingly congested.

Bush War

In 1965, the prime minister Ian Smith unilaterally declared independence after Britain refused to let Rhodesia decolonise as a white supremacist state. Two major liberation organisations emerged. Zanu, under Robert Mugabe, and Zapu, under Joshua Nkomo. Black nationalist opposition began its armed resistance in 1966. When international economic sanctions were imposed against Smith’s regime, white commercial agriculture was heavily subsidised, making it even harder for African peasants to compete. The "land question" was a major cause of the guerrilla war, which was fought with increasing ferocity during the 1970s with both sides intimidating and torturing recruits in rural areas. In 1979, renewed negotiations in London led to the Lancaster House Agreement which paved the way for independence in April 1980. Mugabe, who won a landslide victory in the first free election, promised to resettle blacks on white land.

Independence

Independence saw the transfer of power from whites to blacks, but not land. Thousands of settlers opted for Zimbabwean nationality after independence. Britain gave the new government £44m for resettlement projects. But the UK says much of the land ended up in the hands of Mr Mugabe’s associates rather than the poor. Other international donors have stopped funding government land reform for similar reasons. Under the Lancaster House constitution the Zimbabwe Government could only buy white land from “willing sellers”. When this expired after 10 years the government passed a law empowering it to make compulsory purchases. But there have been few transfers in the last decade, with the government failing to budget for serious reform. Three years ago Mugabe announced a hit list of 1,500 farms set for compulsory acquisition. He said Britain should foot the bill for compensating the white farmers because Rhodesian colonists had stolen the land from blacks in the first place

The Situation Today

In February, President Mugabe tried to change the constitution to allow confiscation of white land. When he was defeated in a referendum, he encouraged the occupation of white farms by veterans from the Rhodesian War. Hundreds of farms were invaded. Caught in the middle of the confrontation were the black labourers who rely on the white farms for their livelihood and accommodation. Mugabe pushed through a bill in April empowering the government to seize white land and declaring Britain “liable” for compensation. The UK says it will fund land reform, but only if it benefits the poor. White farmers agree the need for land redistribution, but say there are already plenty of farms on offer to the government. They argue that transferring large farms to people who do not know how to run them could destroy the economy. Agriculture is one of Zimbabwe’s top foreign exchange earners and its largest employer. As the country struggles with crippling inflation and unemployment, many rural poor say it is not land, but jobs which is the real issue.

Well done to those of you who managed to wade through the above history lesson. I found the above article fairly accurate, biased in some areas, but of course, unless you lived here through the last 50 years, you won’t get the actual feel of what took place during that time. Does that make sense ?

Now for the latest farm invasions update. (Yes this page will give you plenty to read. It might have to last until I get back from Nyanga, after Christmas !

COMMERCIAL FARMERS' UNION
FARM INVASIONS AND SECURITY UPDATE
Monday 11th December 2000

NATIONAL REPORT IN BRIEF:

There were life-threatening situations at Southmour and Duncombe farms in Mazowe/Concession during the weekend, when war vet Matavire accompanied by a large and aggressive group demanded the hand over of these farms. Police response to the situation was very poor and the group had an all night 'pungwe' on the front lawn at the homestead on Southmour. Work has resumed today on both farms and the situation is stable but tense.

Police have not intervened to prevent the illegal movement of cattle around the anthrax area west of Mhondoro in Mashonaland West.

War vets and followers have handed a letter of eviction to the farmer on Wenimbe farm in Marondera, stating that the farm workers should vacate by Friday the 15th December 2000.

Notorious war vet, Mrs Rusike, has been charged with the theft of a pick-up load of cucumbers from Parklands Farm.

Regional reports were not received from Manicaland, Masvingo, Midlands and Matabeleland and only a partial report was received from Mash West (North).

REGIONAL REPORTS:

Mashonaland Central

Centenary - Invaders at Kingstone Devril set up a barricade and attempted to stop work, but removed the barricade subsequent to negotiations with the owner.

Mvurwi - Poaching is ongoing at Forrester and irrigation equipment has been stolen from Blighty.

Mutepatepa - The owner of Amanda reports that resettled people from the neighbouring farm, Audrey, are using the farm as a short cut, cutting fences and poaching.

Mazowe / Concession - Potentially volatile and life-threatening situations developed at Southmour and Duncombe during the weekend, when war vet Matavire accompanied by a large and aggressive group demanded the hand over of the farms. Police response to the situation was very poor and the group had an all night 'pungwe' on the front lawn at the homestead on Southmour. The owner of Southmour vacated the farm for the weekend, but has returned today. Work has resumed today on both farms and the situation is stable, although tense. Threats were issued to the owner of Somerset but work has continued.

Shamva - Many farms in the area have still not been allowed to plant or cultivate what was planted and invaders are moving on in large numbers daily, carrying out planting in small blocks of land while driving livestock onto properties as well.

Mashonaland East

Beatrice - There is still cultivation taking place on Goldilands. Individuals from the Msasa and Tsunga Resettlement areas have started pegging and planting on Lisbon and have said that they have been given permission by the DA to go ahead. This is unconfirmed, as they do not have written evidence that they have her permission.

Bromley/Ruwa - There was pegging and planting on Sanga over the weekend.

Enterprise - About 3 ha was illegally ploughed and planted on Strathlorne Farm over the weekend. New arrivals on Colga pegged in a land that has been ridged and prepared by the owner for a summer crop.

Harare South - On Friday 8th December a DDF tractor was ploughing on Swallowfield. About 9 people led by Felix Gutura visited Gilston and started pegging on the farm. Felix advised that the DA would be following them shortly but the DA still has not arrived. There is a DDF tractor ploughing on Albion this morning. The invaders continue planting.

Marondera - On Friday, war vets and followers handed a letter of eviction to the farmer on Wenimbe farm, stating that the farm workers should vacate by Friday the 15th December 2000. Cattle have been bought onto Esperance and they are ploughing up a rhodes grass pasture. The Police, Vet Dept and DA have all been informed and approached with no assistance as yet.

Marondera North - Ploughing continues on Seaton and Oxford/Rukata. Eight head of cattle were bought onto Oxford and there are 15 - 20 people planting where the oxen have ploughed. A delegation arrived on Rapids farm but they stayed there for a short while and then left. The owner of Welcome Home has managed to plant 70 ha of maize with no interference. There are no further developments on Cambridge.

Macheke/Virginia - There is ploughing on Timorin and invaders have planted about 0.5 ha of groundnuts and maize. A cow was slaughtered on Nyagadzi and there is a lot of ploughing on the farm. Ploughing continues on Dry Law Hill and Bimi. The police told the owners to contact the DA, which they did and he is unaware that these farms are supposed to be ploughed but advised that there is nothing he can do as the invaders follow their own agenda now. Four oxen were bought onto Paradise to start ploughing where the owner was planning to put his irrigated tobacco crop next year. The invaders were asked for a movement permit for the cattle but refused to show it to anyone and they stated that they were not leaving until the police arrived. Invaders are opening gates and moving cattle around on Chikumbakwe to stop them interfering with the invaders ploughing and planting.

Wedza - Three individuals armed with axes killed three antelope on Ashlynns farm. They escaped with their ten dogs. 9 vehicles with about 100 people arrived on Chard farm and started resettling and planting without the DA. They then moved on to Oklahoma and Totnes. Totnes is a new invasion. Three arrogant individuals arrived on Skoonveld and Laurel and advised the owners that they would be back with weapons on Saturday if all of the cattle were not moved off the farms. They then went ahead with others and pegged more land on the farms. On Laurel the invaders are moving the farmer's cattle around from paddock to paddock as they are interfering with their ploughing. An electrical motor was stolen on Devon farm but was abandoned after 70 metres, as it was too heavy, so the reaction team recovered it. A tractor that was ploughing on Hull arrived back this morning to continue ploughing. Cattle from the resettlement and the farmer's cattle continue to be mixed and the farmer is now missing 5 head of cattle.

Mashonaland West (North)

Chinhoyi - There was a confrontation with about 40 invaders after illegal roadblocks were set up on Crescent Road. Police responded after 3 hours and the situation was stabilised. Invaders deliberately released cattle from a feedlot on Maysma farm but the cattle were recovered. Invaders are illegally planting maize in lads scheduled for tobacco on Ormeston Farm.

Mashonaland West (South)

Norton - On Parklands war vet Mrs Rusike was caught stealing a pick-up load of cucumbers. Charges are being pressed. On Tilford Chief Chibero, M.P. Charles Ndlovu, C.I.O and war veterans coerced the owner under duress into allowing co-existance. In the Norton area generally there have been 130 cattle stolen during "co-existence" over the last few weeks. Invaders are illegally ploughing on Knockmalloch.

Chegutu - Police have not intervened to prevent the illegal movement of cattle around the anthrax area west of Mhondoro. Thirty cattle have moved onto San Fernando, despite an agreement with the District Administrator Chegutu and the Land Committee.

That’s it for tonight folks. Hope to update before we go off into the mountains. - Lorraine

Saturday 16th December
Hi folks - I decided to copy in the latest farm report.

COMMERCIAL FARMERS' UNION

FARM INVASIONS AND SECURITY UPDATE

Friday 15th December 2000

NATIONAL REPORT IN BRIEF:

The owner of Nyamanda Farm in Karoi was severely beaten by illegal occupiers yesterday following an altercation when the invaders attempted to prevent work. A group of about 40 invaders, one armed with a machete, confronted the farmer and at least seven were involved in the attack. The farmer defended himself with a baton, but sustained severe bruising. At least one invader was injured. Notorious Superintendent Mabunda, who was transferred out of the district following a meeting with the Minister of Home Affairs, is investigating the case and has instructed that the farmer be charged with assault. Superintendent Mabunda also continues to be active in the Tengwe area.

There were two more cases of farm workers being ordered by illegal occupiers to vacate their houses. Yesterday, invaders removed workers' possessions at Danbury Park in Mazowe and in Marondera, war vet Maphosa threatened that "we will see who will end up in the mortuary" when the owner of Wenimbe Farm refused to evict his tenant's farm workers.

In a successful police and community reaction in Chegutu, an armed gang, who had kidnapped two people and were apparently intending to rob a farmer in the area, were apprehended.

So far, nine people have died and over 600 people have been hospitalised due to the Anthrax outbreak in Mhondoro. Despite this, the authorities remain unwilling to resolve the illegal movement of cattle out of the quarantine area.

Regional reports were not received from Midlands and Matabeleland.

REGIONAL REPORTS:

General - Throughout the province, there are widespread work stoppages, illegal movement of cattle and other livestock onto properties, haphazard attempts at ploughing and planting and construction of shelters.

Victory Block - Invaders at Msitwe River Ranch continue to make claims that the owner's cattle are eating "their" crops.

Mazowe/Concession - Yesterday, invaders at Danbury Park demanded that the farm workers move out of their houses and proceeded to remove their possessions from the houses. They moved up to the owner's parent's home, where they sat on the front lawn shouting and chanting until the police eventually responded and dispersed the crowd in the evening.

Mashonaland East

Bromley / Ruwa - Ploughing with a DDF tractor and private tractors continues on Masun in pastures that have been planted to katambora grass seed.

Enterprise - There appears to be a movement of people back onto farms in the Enterprise area where invaders have previously moved off.

Featherstone - Section 7 Orders have been delivereed to the owners of Loudia and Nyamazaan.

Marondera - Agritex went out to Gwaai farm with the intention of pegging the farm. The owner of Wenimbe spoke to invader Maphosa who insisted that the tenant's labour vacate their houses on the farm. The owner refused. Maphosa said that they would evict the workers anyway and see 'who would end up in the mortuary'. Police are attending to the report.

Marondera North - Sheep and oxen have been moved onto Chiparawe farm. Ploughing and planting continue on Seaton and Rakata. The owner of Seaton Farm received a copy of a letter from the war vet base commander to the District War Vets Office with a number of allegations, including that he bought a number of armed white men onto the farm and the son fired a shot into the air. These allegations are false but the invaders are using them to justify taking sterner measures against the farmers. There is still a large group of illegal occupiers on Cambridge.

Macheke / Virginia - Police are going through the district asking to see farmers firearms and licences. It appears that they are more interested in the types of firearm rather than if they are licenced or not. A Section 5 was delivered to Metheven farm.

Mashonaland West (North)

Karoi - The owner of Nyamanda Farm was severely beaten by illegal occupiers yesterday following an altercation when the invaders attempted to prevent work. A group of about 40 invaders, one armed with a machete, confronted the farmer and at least seven were involved in the attack. The farmer defended himself with a baton, but sustained severe bruising. At least one invader was injured. The matter was reported to the police, but there was no official report book available. Superintendent Mabunda, who had been transferred out of the Karoi District following a meeting with the Minister of Home Affairs, is investigating the case and has instructed that the farmer be charged with assault.

Ayshire - Farms have had Section 7's.

Tengwe - Illegal ploughing and cattle movement is ongoing on Gwiwa and Pollux. The notorious Superintendent Mabunda continues to be actively involved in the area.

Chinhoyi - Assistant DA Chisepo says they are launching a tillage programme on Zintafuli today and are allocating the farm to 30 people. There are still problems on Listonshiels with ploughing and more people moving onto the farm. Invaders on Long Valley are still planting in lands that are being prepared for soyabeans. Police have been contacted but a confrontation seems inevitable. There is illegal movement of cattle and a new influx of invaders on Magondi Farm and more cattle have been moved onto Magog Farm for ploughing. Tree cutting and planting is ongoing at Oswa Farm.

Trelawney / Darwendale - The DA has notified a farmer representative that Colenso, Taunton, Mwanga Farm will be fast-tracked on Monday. The DA has instructed that the owner of Shirleigh Farm be persuaded to plough for invaders.

Mashonaland West (South)

Norton - ZANU (PF) are active in setting up ZANU (PF) cells on farms. The farm workers are being told that the cells are the authority on the farm and that labour disputes are to be handled by ZANU (PF). This is creating significant problems regarding productivity.

Selous - On Arbor Farm war vets have defied police and are planting maize into pastures in order to incite the owner.

Chegutu - Wing Commander Mazambani, commanding officer of Fylde Air Force Base, continues to head up illegal ploughing and planting on Exwick, which has been de-listed. A guard was kidnapped on Lone Kop Farm whilst trying to follow up a report of a wounded wildebeeste. His automatic shotgun was stolen and the gang then moved north where evidently another person was kidnapped and tied to a tree. Information leaked out that this gang was waiting at Farnham Farm gate where they were going to hold up the owner. In a good community / police reaction the gang was apprehended and their weapons were confiscated. There have now been over 600 people hospitalised from the Mhondoro Anthrax outbreak, however the police, Veterinary Department and DA are still unwilling to sort out the illegal movement of cattle from this area into commercial farming areas. So far nine people have died due to the Anthrax outbreak.

Kadoma/Battlefields - On Collingdale Farm police have reacted regarding illegal planting.

Manicaland

General - The province is reported to be generally quiet.

Chipinge - Ploughing with oxen is taking place on Buffelsdrift, which is not listed. Two DDF tractors, both escorted by an armed policeman and an armed soldier, are ploughing on Groenvlei.

Masvingo

Masvingo East and Central - Ploughing, planting and tree-cutting continues on the half of Southwill Estates that has been claimed by invaders. A Rural District Council tractor is illegally ploughing on Chirdza Ranch.

Chiredzi - Fifty opposition supporters gathered to support the manager of Buffalo Range who was experiencing difficulties with local war vet leader Mutumachanie. There is reliable information that Mutumachanie has subsequently been issued a semi-automatic weapon.

Gutu / Chatsworth - A Section 7 Notice has been served on the owner Southvale

Mwenezi - The DA reports that the second fast-track phase, in which favoured individuals will receive land, will start in the New Year. Section 7 notices have been served on Rutenga Farm (B. Landman) and Altenburg Farm (K. Landman).

I have had to create another news page - News Page 6. Read on !

Zimbabwe News Page 5

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Tuesday 12th December 2000

Mob rule beckons as rule of law is trashed

Tuesday 12^th December 2000