Wikileaks: Commercial farmers go for broke
Friday, 23 September 2011 14:38
The Commercial Farmers Union filed a 1000-page lawsuit against President
Robert Mugabe and his government on 18 September 2000 in the forlorn hope
that the lawsuit could at least allow them to obtain financing for the
coming season.
According to a cable released by Wikileaks, the farmers’ representatives
told United States embassy officials that they did not believe that the
lawsuit would bring the land crisis to an end or even restore the rule of
law immediately.
“Their immediate hope was that the Supreme Court will quickly issue an
injunction against farm seizures and the subsequent evictions of the farm
owners, thereby allowing farmers to obtain financing for the current
planting season,” the cable says.
“In the longer run, the CFU clearly hopes that a favourable Supreme Court
ruling will encourage the international community to bring significant
pressure to bear on President Mugabe to end the destructive fast track
resettlement effort and undertake a fair, transparent land reform process.”
The CFU cited six respondents including President Mugabe. The others were:
Minister of Lands Joseph Made, Minister of Home Affairs John Nkomo, Minister
of Public Works Ignatius Chombo, Minister of Rural Resources Joice Mujuru
and Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri.