SA farmer arrested : Diplomat Secures Release of Farmer in Zimbabwe – (Mike Odendaal)
SA farmer arrested – (Mike Odendaal)
2010 07 02
Written by Staff Reporter
Friday, 02 July 2010 12:17
Harare
A white South African farmer was arrested last week on charges that he refused to vacate his farm despite holding a court order barring the new Zimbabwe land owners from moving onto his property.
Civil rights group AfriForum said Mike Odendaal was “wrongfully arrested” by the Zimbabwean police on Friday morning on grounds that he was illegally living on his farm, Wolvedraai, which has been acquired by the government for resettlement.
According to AfriForum, the arrest took place despite the fact that Odendaal was granted a court order by the Zimbabwean High Court on June 26 in terms of which he and his family could stay on the farm while farm settlers had to be removed from it.
AfriForum chief executive Kallie Kriel criticised the South African embassy in Zimbabwe for refusing to assist Odendaal during the past three weeks when people illegally occupied his farm.
“It leaves a bitter taste in the mouth when one sees that the South African government turns its back on its own citizens who are subject to human rights violations in Zimbabwe, while the same South African government at the same time rolls out the red carpet for Robert Mugabe at the Soccer World Cup Tournament,” Kriel said.
Mugabe was one of the world leaders invited to attend the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup on June 11.
Kriel said the South African government’s refusal to assist Odendaal served as further motivation for AfriForum to hold Pretoria “to account in court soon” because of its failure to protect the lives and property of South Africans in Zimbabwe.
AfriForum’s senior legal team is currently preparing court documents to ask the High Court to order the South African government to indicate which steps will be taken to intercede on behalf of South Africans in Zimbabwe.
In terms of the settlement reached between AfriForum and the South African government in November 2009 with regards an investment protection agreement between South Africa and Zimbabwe, the South African government undertook to maintain the rights and remedies of South African victims of Zimbabwe’s land redistribution programme.
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Diplomat Secures Release of Farmer in Zimbabwe – (Mike Odendaal)
2010 07 05
http://allafrica.com/stories/201007050003.html
BusinessDay
Hopewell Radebe
5 July 2010
Johannesburg
DIPLOMATIC intervention by SA’s ambassador in Zimbabwe, Prof Mlungisi Makalima, has helped secure the release of a South African farmer jailed in Zimbabwe.
Mike Odendaal, “wrongfully” arrested by the Zimbabwean police last week, was released on Friday, civil rights organisation AfriForum said yesterday.
AfriForum – which has become a thorn in the administration of President Jacob Zuma, who has taken over the facilitation in Zimbabwe’s political stalemate – is putting pressure on SA to use diplomatic channels to force the Zimbabwean government to halt new illegal land seizures without compensation.
Kallie Kriel, AfriForum CEO, said Mr Odendaal had been released unharmed on Friday after Prof Makalima’s intervention.
He said the South African embassy in Zimbabwe had also ensured the illegal occupants on his farm, Wolvedraai, were removed.
Attempts to get a response from the Department of International Relations and Co-operation were unsuccessful.
Mr Odendaal was granted an order by the Zimbabwean High Court on June 26 that his family could stay on the farm. But local police ignored the order and refused to help him remove farm invaders.
“While we appreciate the ambassador’s assistance in this regard, we are disappointed that not every reported case of invasion of farms owned by South Africans in Zimbabwe … is treated with similar urgency,” Mr Kriel said.
He said the event was distressing as Mr Odendaal had been appealing to the South African embassy in Zimbabwe for urgent assistance for three weeks.
“It leaves a bitter taste in the mouth when one sees that the South African government turns its back on its own citizens who are subject to human rights violations in Zimbabwe, while (it) rolls out the red carpet for (President) Robert Mugabe at the Soccer World Cup.”
Mr Kriel said AfriForum was going ahead with its court action, expected to be filed soon, to hold the government to account for its failure to protect the lives and property of South Africans in Zimbabwe.
“Our senior legal team is finalising court documents to ask the high court to order the South African government to indicate which steps it will be taking to intercede on behalf of South Africans in Zimbabwe.”
In terms of a settlement reached between AfriForum and the South African government regarding the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, formalised as a court order in November, SA undertook to maintain the rights and remedies of South African victims of Zimbabwe’s illegal land redistribution.