URGENT APPEAL - STOP THIS LAWLESS SOCIETY -
SITUATION IN KAROI
On the 15th September 2000, an open letter was sent to the Commissioner
of
Police Chihuri from the Karoi Community en masse (see copy below) which
he
chose to ignore. Since this letter went out the Karoi farmers
have
suffered the following abuse:-
18.09.00
CHIUWA
FARM - Dutoit
The guard was chased from his home (between irrigated
lands & borehole) by
war vets and told that everything that side belongs
to them. Labour told
to
evacuate compounds and move into the barns as the
compound now belongs to
them. Labour
refused.
18.09.00
YAWANDA FARM - BB Johnson
3 x
poachers that were arrested by farm guards and fined have had their
.303
weapons actually returned to them by the police! Barnabus Panadengu
(pseudo
war vet) stated that he had hunting rights to the farms and if the
guards
from Yawanda go to Laughing Hills they will be killed. Poaching is
rife on
ALL the farms in Karoi right now, animals are being slaughtered by
poachers
using spears, snares, guns and packs of dogs. The squatters
cannot actually
eat one tenth of the dead beasts. Zebra, which they don't
eat at all are left
in snares.
18.09.00
Report that Magunje Rural
Councillors had met and resolved that they would
take over LAUGHING HILLS
FARM , LANLORY FARM, ANSDELL FARM and PEVERIL
PLACE (See assault report -
M.Roper) They decided to "just take the farms"
due to the fact that the rains
are almost upon us...
18.09.00
BAOBAB FARM - N
Mostert
A group of squatters want the labour out of their accommodation -
they
were visited by a negotiating team - situation "sort of
resolved".
18.09.00
GRAND PARADE - P Stidolph
War
Vets stopped ridging and 3 foremen were assaulted. The labour reacted
and
chased the squatters. Two squatters were citizen arrested due to the
fact
that the police took 3 hours to react and even then only reacted when
they
were threatened with the likelihood that a war vet being killed could
not be
ruled out. The labour who made the citizens arrest have now been
charged with
assault!
19.09.00
NASSAU RANCH - D Penny
Work
stoppage. The threat to stop work on this farm is daily occurrence
and
the
situation is reported to Mabundu each time. He has said that the land
belongs
to the people and should farmers wish to farm they must get
permission
!
20.09.00
LANLORY - Flight
3 foremen singled out
and verbally abused for making so called false
reports. Flight was also
verbally abused. Reported - no police
reaction.
20.09.00
CHIUWA FARM - Dutoit
Visited by
senior war vets and the police. Dutoit told that he has now to
request
permission to farm on certain lands. Situation obviously
unresolved. Du Toits
farm has deliberately been burnt out a few weekends
previously. Whilst the
fire was being attended to by farmer and labour,
the
reaped maize stack
was set on fire. Reported No investigation by police
to
date.
20.09.00
GLENELLEN FARM -
Saywood
Squatters tried to stop ridging but were chased off by labour. Very
near
to
civil strife breaking out.
20.09
NASSAU
- D Penny
4 war vets from Chinhoyi office arrived and verbally abused Penny.
They
were drunk and disorderly driving a beige Mazda first three digits
being
451... They stopped irrigation on prepared lands and were to return for
a
meeting with Penny and the labour.
21.09.00
BUFFALO
DOWNS - W Nel
Wood cutting continuing and shacks being built.
Continual harassment of
workers and farmer. War vet base camp situated on
farm. Mabunda visits
this
camp regularly and issues orders to the warvets
sometimes inciting them to
intimidate the
farmer.
23.09.00
COLDOMA ESTATES - Spignese
Farmer
prevented from collecting wood. War vets impounded 2 tractors but
released
the trailers after farmer agreed to "ask permission" from war
vets
before
collecting his wood.
23.09.00
HELWIN FARM -
Sheppard
Game scouts came into contact with 10 poachers who tried to ambush
them.
One war vet threw a spear at a guard. The 2nd guard fired a shot.
The
poachers had 18 dogs with them and the guards killed 2 and wounded
1.
Report made to ZRP. ( It must be noted that Mabunda has stopped
the
presence of the National Parks game scouts being deployed in the
area.)
23.09.00
CHIUWA FARM - Dutoit
Farmer
stopped from unloading his irrigation pipes - war vets told them
that the
lands were theirs. War vet GAPA MASUNDA commandeered a trailer,
the pipes
rolled off the trailer and a fight then broke out. 4 pipes
damaged - Black
Boots (Support Unit from Makuti) arrived, situation
temporarily resolved.
Police investigated pipes being broken. War vets
seen
stealing maize and
on being asked by the guard what they were doing said
that it was none of his
business and swore at him and told him to get
lost.
Another has since been
arrested for stealing maize.
25.09.00
LANLORY FARM -
A Flight
Farmer stopped on road on 21st and verbally abused badly by war
vets. He
was told that he would be beaten for calling the police. JEFRED
MUKWERERE
(Secretary for District Security) from the war vets office arrived
to
speak
with them - no war vets around at the time so a message left for
them to
come to the Karoi office. Friday farmer abused again. Masses from
the
communal lands moved in. (+- 70) and deliberately stared fishing
on
stocked
dams. Saturday 2 war vets arrived and agreed that if farmer
supplies
watercart and transport they will move to original area that they
were on
in March. They intend to start planting maize. They asked farmer for
jobs
as no money left! Farmer asked to grind maize for them. They refuse
to
move
until government give them land and they are ready to start
planting NOW
due to approaching rains.
26.09.00
HELWYN
FARM - G Shepperd
Poaching rife - poachers had dogs. One poacher
tried to spear the guard
but
the other guard fired a shot into the air.
One guard killed two dogs and
wounded another. Snares are being recovered
daily. If nothing is done the
future of wildlife in this country is finished.
Reported to police but no
attempts made to stop the rampant
killing.
26.09.99
BUFFALO DOWNS - W
Nel
Inspector Mabunda and war vets arrived on the farm and threatened
and
abused farmer and said that the farmer was inciting
war.
26.09.00
ASSAULT REPORT ON M ROPER - PEVERILL
PLACE
The owner of Peveril Farm, Karoi, Marshall Roper, was
severely injured by
war vets this morning. A group of 12 war vets attempted
to disrupt the
planting of tobacco on the farm. Mr Roper and the farm workers
objected to
the stoppage and a war vet started pushing Roper around. Warvet
Peter then
hit Mr Roper across the face with an open hand. War vet, William
then
stepped forward and slashed Mr Roper across the bridge of his nose
with
a
machete. Mr Roper collapsed to the ground and in fear of his life,
fired 2
shots in the air to disperse the war vets. ZRP from Karoi responded
and
Support Unit was deployed. Mr Roper lost a significant amount of blood
but
is in a stable condition in a Harare hospital. Surgeons have attended
to
his severe wounds (See picture attachment) Neighbouring farmers
with
workers made citizens arrest of 4 war vets. The war vets were
taken
immediately to the Police station in Karoi who them wanted to charge
the
farmers with assault. Because of the growing number of protesters
outside
the police station the farmers were released. It is now understood
that 3
farm workers have been arrested in connection with the incident and it
is
expected that all illegal occupiers will be evicted from Peveril
Farm.
The Karoi Community angered by the continuing and blatant
lawlessness in
their district, converged on the Karoi police Station at
12.00pm to
peacefully demonstrate their discontent. Approximately 60 farmers
40
business men and women hundreds of workers from the business district
and
residents of Chikangwe Township and Karoi Village along with 2000 or
so
farm workers, united to denounce the disregard for law and
order.
District
Police Officer for the Karoi District, Supt. Mabunda, came
under personal
attack for his role in supporting lawless activity in the area
under his
jurisdiction. Warvet JEFRED MUKWERERE (Secretary for District
Security
and
who is on five charges for assault) stood by Mabundas side
and tried to
record the names of the farmers present and who from the crowd
asked
questions. A cell phone communication was received that the
deputy
Commissioner of Police Mpufu had ordered the support unit to use tear
gas
and arrest the demonstrators. Before this happened the crowd dispersed
but
threatened to continue with mass demonstrations if positive steps are
not
taken to restore law and order.
For the record it must be
remembered that Supereintendant Mabunda was
posted as District Police office
late in 1999. He made it very clear to
the
farmers association that he had
been sent to Karoi for two reasons. As the
official land commissioner for
Zanu PF he had instructions to redistribute
the farm land and secondly to
ensure a Zanu Pf victory no matter what it
took. Countless assaults, verbal
abuse, threats and gross intimidation
ensued pre election. No report books
were available in the police station
for a four week period and reports if
taken were written on scraps of
paper. Very few charges were laid of the
perpetrators of the violence.
Most
incidents were directly incited by
Mabunda and his hench men. Mabunda has
been quoted on numerous occasions of
saying ...quote" my boys from the
bush..." It also must be noted that Mabunda
was in command of the
Commissioner of Police, Chihuri during the "liberation
struggle".
The following facts were presented to the Provincial Police
Officer in
June 1999 for consideration of moving Mabunda from Karoi. These
facts
were
sent to the Commissioner of police, Chihuri. No action was
taken;-
Whenever Mabunda meets with the warvets they either salute him or
come
to
attention. Dispol has been seen to salute Rex Jesus....who is in
charge of
who?
War Vets from various areas have refused to communicate
with anyone but
Dispol - a clear case of showing that he is totally in charge
of the War
Vets.
When a work stoppage was reported to Dispol, he
slammed the door of his
office reporting the matter and would not speak to
anyone about the
situation. Only after considerable damage to the farm
operation had been
done was he prepared to act and send a police detail
out.
A number of assault cases have been reported at the charge office
and to
date no Criminal Record has been opened. Reports from the Police are
that
over 40 RRB's involving assaults have been cancelled. The only
time
assault
charges have been followed through is when two commercial
farmers were
beaten and the press was involved. To date no investigation has
been
carried out with respect to the assault charges made by another
two
farmers
and they have now been threatened that if they do not withdraw
their
charges they will be killed by trained killers.
Dispol was
advised that if he should defuse Rex Jesus and attend to him as
he was
potentially a very dangerous man and capable of carrying out
murder.
No
action or investigation was carried out and murders were carried out
in
Kariba.
When 3 people were arrested in Kariba, Dispol went to
Kariba the next day
and had them released.....the following day the same 3
people were
arrested
for murder.
Many police have told us that
"their hands are tied and that they are not
allowed to carry out normal
Police duties because we are under the
command
of
Mabunda........
When the Police were told by Dispol to attend to a
farmers beating, they
arrived at the scene 2 hours late. After enquiring why,
it was learnt from
the Police details that their instruction was that they go
via Magunje and
delay their arrival at the scene as long as
possible.
During a very violent scene, Dispol said on 2 occasions that he
would
attend in 15 minutes to the scene. This was never done and
consequently
major damage was carried out to property.
Due to
intimidation, labour have been unwilling to report cases of
assault.
In
these situations reports have been made directly to Dispol. No
investigation
have been followed up. It is very apparent that Dispol has
had no intention
of carrying out the law.
Despite being aware that all weapons found in a
farmers house, during a
totally unacceptable search ,were licensed, Dispol
proceeded to state to
ZTV that an arms cache had been found.
Dispol,
who is Chairman of the committee, is aware that money amounting to
$200
000.00 has been asked for in order to get farmers back on their
farms
farming. He has chosen to ignore this and make no investigation or
even
listen to the facts.
Dispol stood by and watched as War Vets
broke ceilings during a weapons
search in a farmers home.
No receipt
was given to a farmer for licensed weapons taken after a search
of a farmers
house.
It is very clear that in all cases the War Vets side of all
situation has
been favoured by Dispol and that he has a very apparent hate
for farmers.
In all cases the Karoi Police have been very reluctant to
assist if Dispol
has been in the Police station. Whenever he is not there,
there is a
definite change in attitude by the police and they are willing to
carry
out
their duties.
In conclusion, be aware of the potentially
volatile situation that could
result if Dispol is allowed to remain in this
area. It is very clear that
he is intent on inflicting as much discomfort on
the commercial and
business sector as possible in order to gain favour of the
war Vets and ZP
Youth. He is abetting the spread of violence by criminal
elements and in
almost all cases is unwilling to react to normal cases where
law and order
is breached.
If he is not moved there is a very possible
danger that the farmers and
businesses in the area will be forced to suspend
operations and evacuate
their premises in order to safe guard their
lives.
The following letter is a copy of the open letter sent to the
Commissioner
of Police, Zimbabwe, Commissioner Chihuri from the community of
Karoi and
is self explanatory.
The purpose of the letter is to ensure that
there is
no misunderstanding and that the Karoi Community will not except
anything
less than what it is enshrined in the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
The
Letter
has been signed by over 1000 signatures and has been hand
delivered to the
Commissioner.
Please copy
and forward this letter to all your contacts and addresses as
we, the
community of Karoi, wish it to be known that the ball is now
in
the
Commissioners court as the responsible
authority.
18th September
2000
Commissioner Chihuri
Commissioner of Police
Zimbabwe Republic
Police
Police General Headquarters
JOSIAH CHINAMANO AVENUE
Box CY
34
CAUSEWAY
Harare
Sir
OPEN LETTER - SITUATION IN
KAROI
The community of Karoi hereby respectfully requests you to ensure
that, as
from today law and order will be properly and legally upheld
and
maintained. You and the Police force are charged with this duty in
terms
of the Constitution of Zimbabwe as well as the duty of preserving
internal
security. You, and members of the police force, on taking office,
swear
to
carry our your duty without fear or favour. It is incumbent upon
you to
fulfil that role. Continued failure to maintain law and order
tarnishes
the reputation off the police force, something we feel sure you
wish to
prevent.
Each and every citizen is entitled to have his or her
rights protected by
the police as guaranteed in our constitution. This is a
fundamental
right.
By ignoring its duty and failing to take steps to
maintain law and order,
you and your force are aiding and abetting the
violation of the rule of
law. We require the rule of law to be complied with
at all times and in
all circumstances.
Continual work stoppages,
assaults, intimidating tactics, and blatant
unwillingness by the police to
react to potentially violent situations,
has
prompted this open letter to
be written.
The District Police Officer, Superintendent Mabunda, has over
the last six
months acted in a manner which is counter productive and has
virtually
ignored any directives or policy statements issued by your good
offices
or
by Government. Details of these issues have been on numerous
occasions
documented and presented to yourself for consideration and for
appropriate
action to be taken through the recognised chain of
command.
Further to this, all past agreements have been broken, ignored,
undermined
and challenged by the war veterans and the local police
leadership. They
obviously hold the opinion that agreements made are only for
their
benefit
and well-being and may be changed by them to suit only
themselves as and
when they feel like it, without regard for the third party
or the
community
at large. In this respect we stress that the local police
leadership not
only fails to maintain law and order or to obey directives or
police
statements from you and Government but also has an attitude which
brings
the police force into disrepute.
Page 2
It is because of
this unacceptable scenario and total disregard for
negotiated agreements that
we, the community of Karoi, including farmers,
farm labourers, business
persons, workers and residents will forthwith
have
to ensure that the Laws
of the Country are complied with and upheld,
preferably with your
co-operation and assistance.
Thus, the community of Karoi will in
particular ensure that :-
Human rights are recognised and protected in
every instance.
The police maintain Law and order as set out in the
constitution
irrespective of the party policies. We quote that the police
role is
"to
preserve the internal security of and maintain law and order"
in the
country.
Every report made to the police station is correctly and
efficiently dealt
with in a proper and professional manner as stated in the
police charter.
No person or political party is above the law.
Assets,
moveable and immovable, are protected under all circumstances.
Investments,
such as land preparation and water reticulation schemes are
utilised by the
investor fully and not interfered with under any
circumstances.
No work
stoppages or interference, which put these investments at risk,
will
occur.
Persons in breach of the law be arrested and prosecuted accordingly.
If
necessary the people of this community will institute citizen's arrests
if
no reaction is taken by the regulating authority in due time.
The
judicial system is utilised to take such action as may be necessary
against
any policeman/woman, irrespective of rank, who refuses or fails to
carry our
his/her legal and lawful obligation or duty to this community.
This
letter is written, as we are most anxious to avert the following:-
Civil
strife breaking out between farm labour forces and war veterans. The
growing
concern amongst farm labourers that their livelihoods and jobs are
in
jeopardy has sparked potentially violent clashes between the parties.
Further
commercial businesses closing.
Further loss of production in the forthcoming
crop.
Further labour redundancies.
Page 3
We wish it to be
known that we acknowledge and accept that there should be
a more equitable
distribution of agricultural land. This should be
effected through an
organised and regulated system as laid out in the 1998
Donors
Conference.
This letter is written without reservation and will be
forwarded to
relevant sources and interested parties in order that our
concerns be
heard
and addressed.
We exhort you and the local police
authority immediately and at all times
to adhere to the rule of law, maintain
law and order, prevent security
from
deteriorating and protect human
rights. The consequences which may flow
from your failure to do so will be
solely your responsibility.
In concluding we express the sincere hope
that you will give serious
consideration to what has been written and will
attend to our request as a
matter of urgency. A written reply by return
setting out your intentions
and the steps you intend taking to restore and
maintain law and order will
oblige.
Karoi
Community.