Didymus Mutasa behind fresh wave of farm seizures
By Alex Bell
09 June 2010
ZANU PF henchman Didymus Mutasa is believed to be behind the latest wave of farm seizures across the country, after ordering land invaders to ignore court orders protecting commercial land from seizure.
At least 16 commercial farmers have come under attack in the last week, as the drive to grab the remaining commercial land in Zimbabwe continues. The Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) on Wednesday expressed grave concern over the continued harassment of productive farmers and the failure of the police to assist them. CFU Vice President Charles Taffs told SW Radio Africa that land invaders have attempted to evict the farmers since the start of June, with many farmers being arrested and incarcerated for days at a time. This is despite most of the farmers being in possession of court orders allowing them to remain on their land.
“These are deliberate attacks on farmers who went to the courts seeking protection of their farms,” Taffs explained. “This is a well orchestrated campaign with direct orders by a Minister of the State to ignore the courts.”
Mutasa, the Minister of Presidential Affairs, is believed to be behind these orders. Last week, he ordered a group of villagers in Chipinge, occupying a coffee plantation, to ignore a court ruling ordering them to vacate the land. Two months ago the Chipinge Magistrates’ Court ordered that the 300 who had moved on the property should vacate the estate because it was not gazetted for resettlement under Robert Mugabe’s land `reform’ programme. But Mutasa ordered the villagers to disregard the court’s order, later justifying his actions by saying he was “protecting the poor.”
Charles Taffs said on Wednesday that it is not coincidental that there is now a deliberate campaign against farmers with court protection, saying Mutasa’s comments are driving these attacks. Most recently, a
farmer’s wife in Manicaland was barricaded inside her home on Tuesday morning and given just 4 hours to vacate the property. But she is in possession of a High Court Order allowing her to remain in occupation of the farm. Also in Manicaland, another farmer in possession of a High Court order was forced off his property over the weekend. His farm foreman was then beaten unconscious on Tuesday night by land invaders.
The CFU said in a statement on Wednesday that the above incidents are not happening in isolation and similar events have unfolded all over the country. Taffs told SW Radio Africa that the police are of no help and
without the power of the courts, farmers “have nowhere else to turn.”
“We have pleaded with government, we have pleaded with the police, we’ve pleaded with everybody, but our pleas have fallen on deaf ears,”
Taffs said. “The situation is bordering on total anarchy.”