White farmer ‘beaten to death’ in suspected robbery
By Alex Bell
02 September 2011
A white tobacco farmer from Mvurwi, north of Harare, has died after he was
apparently beaten to death in his home, following a suspected robbery
attempt in the early hours of Friday morning.
Colin Zietsman was with his wife in their home when unknown men broke into
the house and demanded money. The assailants then attacked the couple and
Zietsman and his wife Tinks were both seriously beaten. Zietsman died on the
property.
According to the former president of the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) Deon
Theron, Tinks was beaten unconscious, but managed to escape the house when
she came to. She has since been hospitalised in a serious but stable
condition.
Theron told SW Radio Africa that Tinks is still not clear on what exactly
happened in the attack.
“She’s obviously very traumatised. All she keeps saying is that she can’t
believe someone could be beaten to death like Colin was,” Theron said.
Theron, a friend of the family, described Zietsman as a “typical Zimbabwean,
in that he was salt of the earth.”
“He was a good guy, a good farmer. He’ll be remembered for that,” Theron
said.
Theron explained that it was too soon to question if the attack was anything
more than a robbery-gone-wrong, but he said his friend’s death shows just
how much Zimbabwe has changed in recent years.
“This kind of brutal and vicious attack is foreign to Zimbabwe when it comes
to crime. We’re not like South Africa in terms of violent crime,” Theron
said.
He added: “So many people now think they can do what they want without
accountability and with absolute impunity. It’s just so sad.”
Zietsman’s death comes almost a year after Chegutu farmer Kobus Joubert was
shot and killed on his property, in what appeared to be a violent robbery.
Thieves shot Joubert in the head, assaulted his wife and stole US$10,000 and
mobile phones. At the time, the CFU said in a statement that Joubert’s death
“highlights the deteriorating situation currently being faced in the rural
farming areas. This is a symptom of the flagrant disregard for the rule of
law in these areas over the last ten years.”