The ZIMBABWE Situation Our thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe
- may peace, truth and justice prevail.
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Homeland

Within my soul, within my mind,
There lies a place I cannot find.
Home of my heart. Land of my birth.
Smoke-coloured stone and flame-coloured earth.
Electric skies. Shivering heat.
Blood-red clay beneath my feet.

At night when finally alone,
I close my eyes - and I am home.
I kneel and touch the blood-warm sand
And feel the pulse beneath my hand
Of an ancient life too old to name,
In an ancient land too wild to tame.

How can I show you what I feel?
How can I make this essence real?
I search for words in dumb frustration
To try and form some explanation,
But how can heart and soul be caught
In one-dimensional written thought?

If love and longing are a "fire"
And man "consumed" by his desire,
Then this love is no simple flame
That mortal thought can hold or tame.
As deep within the earth's own core
The love of home burns evermore.

But what is home? I hear them say,
This never was yours anyway.
You have no birthright to this place,
Descendant from another race.
An immigrant? A pioneer?
You are no longer welcome here.

Whoever said that love made sense?
"I love" is an "imperfect" tense.
To love in vain has been man's fate
From history to present date.
I have no grounds for dispensation,
I know I have no home or nation.

For just one moment in the night
I am complete, my soul takes flight.
For just one moment.... then it's gone
and I am once again undone.
Never complete. Never whole.
White Skin and an African soul.

Michelle Frost

 
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News Release
(On behalf of Commercial Farmers Union)

HIGH COURT Judge Rita Makarau on Friday 14th June 2002 ruled in favour of a
return to normal farming operations for the Dawson's of Rainham Estate. This
ruling means that the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) must ensure the
personal safety and residence of management and staff illegally evicted
months ago and compels ZRP to investigate crimes committed.

But by late Monday 17th June, Police officers had only managed to ensure
safe passage of the removals truck onto the property and before they could
leave at 5:30 pm, Police and removals staff were surrounded by war veterans
and youth and had to call in the support unit to quell the pandemonium that
had broken out.

The Ruling grants relief to the applicants, John Dawson and his family, by
stating that they, "and all workers employed on Rainham Estate together with
members of their families, be entitled forthwith to return to Rainham Estate
and continue, without hindrance or obstruction normal farming operations.."
The Estate, which has not yet been served with a Section 8 Notice, is
currently only subject to a Section 5 Notice served in Aug 2001.

The Ruling goes on to state that until and unless an order is issued in
respect of Rainham Estate in terms of Section 8 of the Land Acquisition Act
(Chapter 20.10), no steps shall be taken by any of the 14 respondents, who
include the Minister of Lands and Agriculture & Rural Resettlement,
Commissioner of Police, Minister of State Security, Governor of Mashonaland
West, or any other person, to unlawfully evict from the farm persons
lawfully entitled to be on the property.

The occupation of the Estate, which is owned by John Murray Dawson, and
managed, by his brother Robert, and two other family members, has rendered
ineffective a very sophisticated and viable agricultural concern to the
detriment of the immediate community in Mount Hampden, and the country as a
whole.

In addition, property valued at approximately Zd $ 400 million and
consisting of about Zd $ 200 million in improvements and another Zd $ 200
million in movable assets, was seized by settlers following the 28th March
2002 eviction which was led by war veterans Amai Chioniso Zvikaramba, who is
said to be a niece of ex Minister Enos Chikowore, and Comrade Bobias
Takundwa.

Problems on the Estate surfaced in August 2000 when it was first illegally
occupied by a number of invaders under the direction of Amai Zvakaramba. Her
initial thrust was to 'sell' plots at a varied price ranges of Zd $ 50 to Zd
$ 1000.

Over the next year, the number of invaders increased and they built
themselves makeshift shacks and housing on the grazing paddocks, a
development that immediately affected the viability of keeping cattle.

October 2000 brought the beginning of clashes between staff and invaders -
this came at the time the soya bean crop was being planted. The matter was
reported to the police without effect.

Farm manager, Robert Dawson in an affidavit before the High Count said, " It
was evident that there were two factions of invades of the farm, one lot
were a more disciplined war veterans and the other led by Zvakaramba made up
of 'opportunists' who defied any authority and refused to be relocated.

Events on the farm remained tense throughout and on the 28th March, Mai
Zvakaramba gathered two busloads of youth and proceeded to illegally evicted
management. They initially camped in the gardens for the first couple of
weeks and later took over the five households on the farm and occupied the
premises under the leadership of ZANU PF functionaries, Comrade Karidza
Deputy Secretary for Security based in Harare, Chamisa, the base commander,
Ntombeni Nkomo, who is a driver at headquarters, Mai Chioniso Zvakaramba and
a retired policeman, Bobias Takundwa.

On 15th April 2002 an agricultural contractor was hired to proceed with
harvesting the soya bean crop (130ha - valued at Zd $18 million).  When the
contractor's machine arrived, the invaders prevented it from entering the
farm.  The operator was threatened with violence and the invaders said they
would burn the machine if it returned.  We were thus prevented from
harvesting our crop.

On the 26th April, almost a month after the initial eviction, the entire
labour force and their families were evicted and personal belongings of both
the owners and the labourers was looted and/or damaged. This amounted to a
further loss of over half a million Zimbabwe dollars. To date nobody has
returned to the farm for fear of loss of life. Staff are still sleeping
rough in the bush.

In early May 2002, Comrade Phumvute contacted Dawson, a security officer
under the authority of the Minister of State Security, who indicated that an
attempt would be made to apprehend the "warlords" on the estate for what he
termed was 'extortion and theft'.

However, despite this offer to assist information, Agricultural and Rural
Development Authority (ARDA) representatives arrived with combine harvesters
on the farm on the 16th May in order to harvest the soya bean crop on the
farm. On 17th May 2002, Dawson telephoned Mr. Zishiri (Director of Lands &
Resettlement - Ministry of Lands & Agriculture) to enquire as to the status
of his crop.

Zishiri told Dawson, 'We are reaping your crop to do you a favour'. This
despite the fact that upon being harvested by the ARDA combines, 21 tonnes
had then been stolen under the eyes of ARDA who took it upon themselves to
harvest the crop without the prior consent of the owner. Zishiri responded
to all further enquiries regarding the status of the crop and the necessary
compensation should it be appropriated illegally. All these questions and
attempts to apply logic were met with a rebuttal of  'are you accusing me
(Zishiri) of stealing'. The conversation ended abruptly when the defensive
Zishiri, unable to make coherent comment or explain, hung up.

During this so called 'favour' of 'harvesting' the crop, 21 tonnes of soya
beans were bagged and stolen and the farm's 7 tonne truck used transport
them away to an undisclosed destination. Locks to the farm's diesel tanks
were broken and approximately 3000 litres of diesel was stolen to drive the
combine harvesters.

On 15th May 2002 Glens Transport was contracted to go to the farm and remove
all household goods.  Five policemen accompanied the truck.  The truck was
stopped in the driveway by Zvakaramba denied them entry saying that nothing
in the homesteads belonged to the Dawson family.  She verbally abused the
Glens workers and threatened to burn the Glens truck, resulting in their
withdrawal without undertaking the move. The owners have been unable to date
to obtain access to even remove the most basic of personal effects and farm
records.

A few days after this incident a meeting was held on Rainham farm between
Mashonaland West Governor Peter Chanetsa with members of the Provincial Land
Committee. The meeting was also attended by Officer Commanding Harare
Central Police, Superintendent Mutomba, and others in an attempt to resolve
the dispute. Despite this meeting the Dawson's were still not provided
access to their farm.

On the 25th May, ARDA completed its combine harvesting exercise, and stored
the crop in the farm sheds. This crop cannot be further processed until a
full labour force is on hand to load into trucks and then to deliver the
product for sale.

On at least three occasions, Dawson was advised by both lands committee
officials and the Director of Lands and Resettlement in the Ministry, Cde
Zishiri that the soya bean crop should be marketed as the property of J.M.
Dawson which remain unattended to due the intentionally created impasse.

A 7 tonne truck stolen by the invaders valued at ZD 18 million is still not
recovered despite attempts by the Police to invoke the respect for the rule
of law with the invaders in the hopes that this would allow for the trucks
return.

In a twist to the story the Governor Chanetsa when appealed to for
assistance blamed the owners for their predicament asking them "why they had
abandoned the farm", he requested a written appeal, which was duly tendered
by the owners.

The directive that resulted from this appeal was that the owners should
revert back to the Police for assistance.

Dawson also telephoned an ARDA representative Mr. Zengeni, to query why the
combine harvesting operations had been carried out by ARDA without lawful
authority or consent of the owners. He confirmed that the soya bean crop
would be sold and that harvesting costs would be deducted and the balance
would be remitted to the owners. This move is clearly unlawful and in
contradiction to the authority of the governor, the head of the provincial
land committee and the director of lands and resettlement.

Numerous reports of the invasion, thefts and the illegal eviction were made
to the police without any action, nor any arrests made, despite police
knowing the identities of the culprits.

The invaders have literally made free with the farm assets and produce, they
have sold milk from the dairy and harvested an export quality tomato crop
valued at over Zd $4 million. They have also killed and consumed 13 of the
dairy cows. A cottage industry manufacturing and marketing butter and cheese
has also had to be closed down, leading to a loss of 6 jobs. Reports of
further theft of roof sheets, slaughter of sheep, were confirmed but no
effective action has been taken up by police.

Rainham farm and a score of other farms in peri urban centres have been
targeted as part of a dedicated campaign by the Peri-Urban Agricultural
Society with members including, Sabina Mugabe sister to President Mugabe and
war veterans, Chris Pasipamire, Mike Moyo and Mutasa among others.

Contrary to Government policy of  "one farmer one farm", Rainham is one of
1 024 single-owned farms have been served Section 8 Orders. The farm is also
home to 4 Dawson families. Tom Dawson, a parent of the family is a well
known supporter of the "freedom struggle" having campaigned along with the
likes of Guy Clutton Brooke,

Ends
For more information, please contact Jenni Williams
on Mobile (+263) 91 300456 or 11213 885 Or on email jennipr@mweb.co.zw
or Fax (+2639) 63978 or (+2634) 703829 email : prnews@mweb.co.zw
A member of the International Association of Business Communicators. Visit
the IABC website www.iabc.co.za
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CNN

At least 80 opposition activists held in Zimbabwe

June 17, 2002 Posted: 6:54 PM EDT (2254 GMT)





HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- At least 80 opposition activists, including a
lawmaker, were being held in police custody Monday after being arrested over
the weekend for participating in a banned demonstration, lawyers and family
members said.
Three staff members from the independent Daily News were also arrested when
police fired tear gas and broke up a demonstration by hundreds of opposition
supporters Sunday.
Managers at the paper said reporter Guthrie Munyuki was suffering from a
suspected fractured wrist after being clubbed by police.
Munyuki, photographer Urginia Mauluka and driver Shadreck Mukwecheni were
reporting on the demonstration called by the youth wing of the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change in a Harare park to mark the anniversary of
the 1976 Soweto Uprising against apartheid in neighboring South Africa.
Opposition lawmaker Munyaradzi Gwisai was among those arrested.
Police refused permission for the demonstration under sweeping security laws
affecting political gatherings. Youth leaders decided to go ahead with the
demonstration anyway.
There was no word from police Monday on possible charges against the
activists as lawyers worked to get their clients out of jail.
The crackdown Sunday was seen as the government's latest effort to quash
opposition to the increasingly authoritarian regime of President Robert
Mugabe.
The Soweto uprising became a turning point in South Africa's struggle,
ushering in a new era of intensified opposition to the apartheid government,
both at home and abroad.
Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since its independence. But opposition to his
regime has grown in recent years and he has attempted to frustrate his
critics by muzzling the press and legislating harsh laws to silence
criticism of the government.
Independent human rights groups say at least 57 people, most opposition
supporters, have died in political violence this year, both before and after
Mugabe's disputed re-election in March. Observer groups said the vote was
marred by rigging and intimidation.
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Daily News

      Public speaks out

      6/18/02 8:11:18 AM (GMT +2)


      Staff Reporters

      MEMBERS of the public are divided over the opposition MDC's plans to
launch mass action to force a rerun of the discredited presidential election
controversially won by President Mugabe in March.



      However, the majority say it should go ahead, while others say it
might cause chaos and more loss of lives, a snap survey conducted in Gweru,
Mutare, Masvingo and Harare has shown.

      Former Gweru mayor and businessman, Patrick Kombayi, said: "Our
government should have nothing to fear if, as it claims, it was popularly
elected.

      Mass action is not about violence, but an expression of the people's
feelings. The moment the government attempts to suffocate that expression,
people will resort to violence."

      John Samubvu Tekere, a vendor at Kudzanayi bus terminus in Gweru,
said: "The government should allow us to stage the proposed MDC-led mass
action and should not unleash the police and army to crush the
demonstrations because that could fuel people's anger.

      One of these days the soldiers might turn against the government
because they too are suffering like us."

      Five out of eight people interviewed in Harare yesterday said the mass
action should go ahead.

      Samson Chikono, a 49-year-old former freedom fighter, said the planned
mass action should go ahead.

      "Maybe it will force the government to conduct a fresh presidential
election.

      The government should not force itself on the electorate. It should
allow people to speak out and mass action is an expression of the people,"
Chikono said.

      Ethel Chiropa, a 26-year-old secretary, said it would not achieve
much. "From past experience, the planned mass action might lead to the
injury of people and damage to property," Chiropa said.

      Another Harare woman, 38-year-old Eunice Mukahlera who was retrenched
last year, said the mass action would be a waste of time.

      But commuter omnibus driver Cleopas Maregere differed. He said: "We
have suffered enough and are all braced for mass action regardless of its
cost to the economy.

      This is the most opportune time to stage the mass action and remove
the Mugabe regime or we will never do it."

      An Asian businessman, who refused to be named for fear of reprisals,
warned: "Mugabe should just go peacefully and save lives."

      In Masvingo, most of the people were of the view that the proposed
mass action was long overdue.

      Said Michael Chitsama: "We are disappointed that the idea has been
lying too long on the drawing board. If we want mass action, then let's do
it now.

      We know people are going to be killed, but that is what happens in any
revolution."

      In Mutare, Taurayi Mabaya, 24 of Sakubva said: "We should call a spade
a spade. Mugabe stole the election, so we must reclaim it through mass
action."

      Another resident, Wellington Shava, pointing out that many people had
already been killed or injured during and after the presidential election,
said: "The mass action should not be held because more lives might be lost."

      An earlier survey last week showed that most Bulawayo residents also
welcomed the mass action but only if properly organised.
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Daily News

      138 MDC supporters remanded in custody in absence of lawyer

      6/18/02 7:50:25 AM (GMT +2)


      From Brian Mangwende in Mutare

      A CHIPINGE magistrate last Saturday remanded in custody 138 MDC
supporters on allegation of contravening various sections of the infamous
Public Order and Security Act (POSA). Among those remanded were the
opposition MDC's top provincial officials.



      Their lawyer, Innocent Gonese, strongly criticised the manner in which
his clients were hauled en masse before the court in his absence. "My
clients were fast-tracked to court despite them having informed the clerk of
court that I was on my way to Chipinge," Gonese said. "By the time I arrived
at the Chipinge court, they had already been arraigned before the magistrate
and remanded in custody. I was not given a chance to represent them. How can
we operate like that?" Gonese said he would apply for bail.

      The MDC members were arrested last week in Birchenough Bridge near
Mapari Resort on the border with Bikita after attending an indoor MDC
meeting. MDC officials have claimed that the group was rounded up and
assaulted by armed policemen. Magistrate Wilson Chikwanha remanded the group
to 29 June after the prosecutor, Obbie Mabahwana said that the MDC members
were likely to continue
      organising illegal meetings if they were granted bail.

      The supporters claimed that since their arrest they were denied food
and were beaten up. MDC officials, James Mukwaya, the provincial organising
secretary, Prosper Mutseyami, the vice-chairman, Lloyd Mahute, the youth
chairman, Christina Chishakwe, the chairperson and Manase Bhera, the vice
organising secretary, were all charged under POSA.

      The others were charged for allegedly contravening sections of the Act
related to invading the rights of other people, intending to cause
disturbance or
      invasion or realising that there is a possibility that such
disturbances may occur. Gonese said said he and Pishai Muchauraya had been
denied access to the MDC members

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Daily News

      Mugabe's trip to food summit outrages EU parliamentarians

      6/18/02 8:19:31 AM (GMT +2)


      By Sandra Nyaira Political Editor

      Geoffrey van Orden, a Conservative Member of the European Parliament,
the legislative arm of the European Union (EU), has attacked President
Mugabe's attendance at the World Food Summit in Rome, Italy, last week and
described it as an act of "astounding hypocrisy".



      Contributing to debate in the 626-member European Parliament in the
French city of Strasbourg, the seat of the assembly, he said the mass food
shortages in Zimbabwe today and starvation in many parts of the country "can
be attributed in significant measure to his misgovernment and corrupt land
reform".

      Van Orden said of Mugabe: "The fact that he is able to travel to Rome
at all is a mockery of international law and of the EU's travel ban.

      The international community must find more effective ways of
controlling the actions of Mugabe and his courtiers."

      Van Orden, the vice-chairman of the EU Parliament's Foreign Affairs
Committee, spoke at the opening of the plenary session.

      He expressed his condolences to the families of the victims of last
week's tragic bus crash in Masvingo.

      He also called for an urgent report from Spain, the current holder of
the rotating EU presidency, on action to be taken against the Mugabe regime,
in the light of the recent visit of an EU troika delegation to southern
Africa.

      The EU mission, which was in the region in May, was led by Miguel
Nadal, the Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and included
ministers from Denmark and Belgium.

      Van Orden said he would call for an extension to the list of banned
Mugabe associates and the strict application of the travel ban and asset
freeze imposed by the EU in March.

      "We also want provision of emergency humanitarian aid to the estimated
7,8 million Zimbabweans suffering food shortages in a situation exacerbated
by the disastrous land seizure policies of the Mugabe regime," he said.

      "But this aid must be kept out of the clutches of Mugabe's henchmen."

      Van Orden has initiated all four of the resolutions on Zimbabwe that
have been passed by the European Parliament since last September.

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Daily News

      Police still deny medical attention for detained journalists and
demonstrators

      6/18/02 8:19:09 AM (GMT +2)


      By Lloyd Mudiwa

      THE police had by last night not taken to hospital those injured among
the 80 people arrested on Sunday as they brutally cracked down on MDC
meetings to mark the International Youth Day in Harare, including Daily News
reporter Guthrie Munyuki, who sustained a fractured arm. This was despite
recommendations by a doctor, who examined them in police custody at Harare
Central Police Station on Sunday night.



      The police brutally assaulted Munyuki and his colleagues, Urginia
Mauluka, a photographer, and Shadreck Mukwecheni, a driver, who were on
assignment, as the former dispersed an MDC meeting at the party's Harare
provincial offices. Mauluka sustained a swelling on her right elbow and
Mukwecheni bruises and welts on his back and bottom. The police also
assaulted an unknown number of MDC members, including Munyaradzi Gwisai, the
Member of Parliament for Highfield. Gwisai is feared to have sustained a
fractured left rib, Ralph Maganga the MDC's lawyer said.

      The doctor, who refused to be named for professional reasons, said he
had recommended that six of the people be taken to Parirenyatwa Hospital for
treatment immediately. These are Munyuki, Gwisai, Stewart Mukoyi, of
Kuwadzana 3 in Harare, Rebecca Mafukaire, Anna Mushaninga and Taurayi
Marimo. Charles Marima, the councillor for Kuwadzana's Ward 37 and Mukoyi,
were allegedly assaulted at Harare Central Police Station. Mukoyi is feared
to have sustained abdominal injuries consistent with severe beating and had
convulsions on Sunday night. Marimo and one of the two women were severely
assaulted all over their bodies, while teargas triggered an asthmatic attack
in the other woman.

      The Daily News' lawyer Lawrence Chibwe yesterday said: "Munyuki,
Mauluka and Mukwecheni are a sorry sight. They are actually in a state of
shock. "The police refused to take them to hospital despite my pleas. Some
officers in the Criminal Investigation Department Law and Order section
informed me that there were no uniformed police officers and vehicles to
take them to hospital even to nearby Parirenyatwa Hospital."

      Chibwe said the police rejected his request to have the trio
surrendered in his custody so that they could see a private doctor,
insisting on a government doctor. His clients, who were charged yesterday
with public violence under common law, are expected to appear at the Harare
Magistrates' Courts today, he said.

      Maganga said: "The police refused to let Gwisai and others seek
treatment. The doctor, who examined Gwisai, had recommended that he go for
an X-ray to determine if he has a fracture on the ribs." Munyuki yesterday
morning said: "They did not take us to hospital last night. A police officer
completed some request for medical affidavit forms so that we could receive
treatment. "The forms were supposed to be handed over to the Controller
before being passed to the Officer-in-Charge for authorisation, but this
apparently was never done."

      Maganga said most of his 77 clients were women hired to cook for
participants at the meeting. They are being charged for contravening Section
25 (8) (b) of the Public Order and Security Act.
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Daily News

      State planning to arrest MDC leaders, ban party - Tsvangirai

      6/18/02 8:16:37 AM (GMT +2)


      Staff Reporter

      THE MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, said yesterday his party was aware
of government plans to ban his party and arrest its entire leadership to
stop the imminent mass action in protest against what he described as the
"illegitimate government of President Mugabe."



      Addressing a news conference in Harare, Tsvangirai said: "We are aware
of the moves by this regime to declare the MDC an unlawful organisation and
arrest its leadership as a way of averting the natural consequences of
election theft. Should that happen, then history will have repeated itself
with startling accuracy and such an unfortunate event will have long-term
repercussions for the nation."

      Tsvangirai said the mass starvation in rural and urban areas was
sufficient cause for a response from the people which he said would come in
the form of an uprising. "This government has defied international opinion
in the hope that the problems facing this country will go away but it is now
evident that defeat will come. The MDC is a national party which will not be
restricted in any part of this country," Tsvangirai said.

      In a statement, the MDC leader said his party was determined to carry
out its legitimate and lawful obligation of defending the people against
increasing police brutality which has been condoned and encouraged by the
leadership of Zanu PF. He said the past few weeks had witnessed a sustained
campaign of unprovoked police brutality on innocent and defenceless citizens
throughout the country.

      Tsvangirai said the police had arrested a total of 170 MDC activists
in Buhera south while another 100 were arrested in Harare this weekend while
preparing to commemorate The Day of the African Child and disrupted a series
of MDC meetings.
      The youths were arrested despite the fact that the MDC had sought
police permission before holding the meeting.

      The police said the MDC could hold its meeting at its party offices
and not at the Harare Gardens which is open to the public. But armed police
and soldiers
      descended on the youths and assaulted them, leaving scores of them
injured.
      "The actions of the police do not come anywhere near legitimate law
enforcement or lawful maintenance of public order. They are a pre-emptive
strike whose sole objective is to instill fear in a cheated and restive
population with the false hope that such action will avert a people-oriented
response to the regime's theft of elections," said Tsvangirai.
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Daily News

      Council admits disconnecting water illegally

      6/18/02 7:49:07 AM (GMT +2)


      From Our Correspondent in Mutare

      THE Mutare City Council last week conceded it was illegally
disconnecting water supplies to ratepayers with fully paid water accounts
but had other arrears with the local authority. Mutare magistrate
Rangarirayi Muhloro, in a default
      ruling, ordered the city council to stop water disconnections, saying
they were illegal. The ruling followed a petition by a Mutare-based company,
Trinity Foundation Trust.



      The company, represented by lawyer Arnold Tsunga challenged the
legality of such practice after water supplies to its premises were
disconnected because of an unrelated debt. The magistrate issued the ruling
after the council's chief legal officer, Denford Madekufamba, failed to
oppose the matter. Last week, Executive Mayor Lawrence Mudehwe conceded the
city council was acting illegally and that it would not appeal the court
decision. "Our legal officer said the reason they did not oppose the
application is because he had known that the practice is illegal," Mudehwe
said.

      The council, in a desperate bid to recover over $100 million owed to
it by residents and businesses, had resorted to disconnecting water supplies
to defaulters to force them to honour their debts. Residents and companies
were quickly settling their other outstanding debts with the city council to
avoid the inconveniences associated with the termination of water supplies.
In the wake of the court ruling, the mayor said the local authority was left
with no choice but to drag defaulters to court to force them to pay.

      Those who keep their water accounts in arrears should expect to see
their water accounts disconnected, he said. Mudehwe said: "We now do not
have an option but to take defaulters to court." In his ruling last week,
Muhloro said: "This order . . . directs the (council) to immediately restore
water supply to the premises situated at No 25 Park Road, Mutare, failing
which (the petitioner) hires an engineering firm to restore supply at the
cost to the respondent." The premises referred to are run by Trinity
Foundation.

      The ruling was applauded by many city residents, businesses and
representatives of other interested parties in the city. Prior to the
ruling, the city council had spurned calls by ratepayers to abandon the
illicit practice.
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Daily News

      Crackdown on forex dealers condemned

      6/18/02 7:37:13 AM (GMT +2)


      From Chris Gande in Bulawayo

      THE government, in a bid to harness foreign currency from the thriving
parallel market in Bulawayo, has embarked on what legal experts have
described as an illegal crackdown on dealers.



      The dealers are being arrested and their money, both in foreign and
local currencies, confiscated. The dealers, who are mostly women, pay $500
admission of guilt fines under the Miscellaneous Offences Act (obstruction
of the avement) without being taken to court. Last week alone more than $2
million worth of foreign and local currency was seized from the dealers.
Some of the women said they were not given receipts to acknowledge
confiscation of the money.

      This has raised fear that the money could find itself lining the
pockets of corrupt police officers. Mabel Bheka, one of the victims, said
she was arrested and had $10 340 in Zimbabwe dollars taken from her. She
said: "I am surprised that I was not issued with an official receipt for the
money they took from me, or given an option to answer the charge against
 me." Several other dealers, who were victims of the swoop also said that
they were not taken to court but were made to pay $500 admission of guilt
fines.

      Legal experts said although according to the Exchange Control Act it
is illegal for individuals other than banks and bureaux de change to deal in
foreign currency, it was illegal for police to arrest anyone for possessing
foreign currency without proof that they were dealing in foreign currency.
Zimbabwe is facing a serious foreign currency shortage. Banks and bureaux de
change are experiencing serious shortfalls, while the parallel market,
especially in Bulawayo, is awash with all major currencies which are
available at more than 400 percent the bank rate.

      The Zimbabwe dollar is officially pegged at $55 against the United
States currency. The foreign currency shortage has been blamed on several
factors, the major one being a decline in export receipts from US$3,108
million (Z$170,940 million) in 1996 to US$1,965 (Z$108,075 million) in 2001.
The illegal dealers who have been arrested have been fined for obstructing
the pavement and not for dealing in foreign currency.

      Nicholas Mathonsi, a legal practitioner, said the forfeiture of the
foreign currency could only be authorised by the courts. He said according
to Section 7 of the Exchange Control Act foreign currency can only be
forfeited by the courts after it has been proved that the currency was the
subject of an offence.
      "Unless you are charging the person for illegally dealing in foreign
currency you cannot forfeit the foreign currency," he said.

      Another practitioner, who preferred anonymity, advised the foreign
currency dealers who have had their money confiscated by the police to seek
legal edress.
      Kossam Ncube, a city lawyer, said: "If the police are really taking
the ealers' money and making them pay admission of guilt fines for blocking
the pavement, then they are taking advantage of the dealers because what
they are doing is illegal."

      According to the Exchange Control Act anyone found illegally dealing
in foreign currency is liable to a fine of up to $1 000 or imprisonment of
up to two years or both the fine and imprisonment. Eric Bloch, a
Bulawayo-based economic commentator, said the clampdown on the foreign
currency dealers would not solve the foreign currency problem. Bloch said:
"It's impossible for a country anywhere in the world to stamp out the black
market. The raids only make the illegal dealers more cautious in their
dealings."

      He said for the past three years the dealers had seen their market
flourish and were now operating openly.
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Daily News

      NGOs accuse government

      6/18/02 8:23:02 AM (GMT +2)


      Staff Reporter

      THE rising number of street children could lead to rampant anti-social
behaviour with serious implications for the nation in the future, a
non-governmental organisation said yesterday. The Zimbabwe National Council
for the Welfare of Children (ZNCWC) said a whole generation of social
outcasts would mature with no stake in society, if the government failed to
address the country's economic and social problems today.



      The ZNCWC is a council for non-governmental organisations involved
with children. It condemned influential members of society as selfish and
insensitive to the plight of children living rough in the streets. Patricia
Freddy, the council's national co-ordinator said: "They abuse girls on the
streets to satisfy their sexual desire. They should sympathise with the
suffering girls."

      Freddy said street boys and girls would develop into prostitutes and
criminals, causing untold problems to society. She said the majority of
street children had no birth certificates, making them ineligible to receive
medical and financial assistance from the Department of Social Welfare. She
said her council was alarmed at the government's failure to provide
alternative shelter for vagrant children living in poverty on the streets.

      Freddy said the government has denied itinerant children their rights
to survival, education, health and development. At the same time the
children have been called "street kids", degrading them even more in the
eyes of society, she said.
      Article 20 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
obliges the government to ensure appropriate provision of alternative family
care for children, considering the children's cultural background, she said.

      She said only 6 000 children of about 100 000 in Zimbabwe have been
put in institutions run by private and church organisations until attaining
the age of 18 years. Freddy said institutionalised children were
inadequately equipped for life out of institutions and ended up on the
streets, leading criminal lives. She said due to the biting poverty, high
inflation, violence and sexual abuse of young girls, the government has paid
only lip service to children's welfare. Non-governmental organisations in
Harare like Streets Ahead and Presbyterian City were sending vagabond
children to school to learn to read and write. President Mugabe on Saturday
feasted with child parliamentarians at the Harare International Conference
Centre, to commemorate the Day of the African Child. Mugabe highlighted
Zimbabwe's education system and
      enactment of laws protecting children as government's successes.

      "We are entitled to beat our own chests saying we have the best
education system in Africa," Mugabe said. "We are saddened by the government
's unwillingness to address the economy," Freddy said. "Breadwinners have
lost their jobs. Fathers have deserted their families."
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Daily News


      15 more MDC activists arrested in Chipinge

      6/18/02 8:20:58 AM (GMT +2)


      From Brian Mangwende in Mutare

      HOURS after a Chipinge magistrate granted 138 MDC members bail
yesterday, 15 more opposition supporters were arrested, bringing the total
to 153 in a week.
      Unconfirmed reports, however, said the number could be as high as 100.



      There were fears that some of the released 138 may have been
re-arrested. Mutare lawyers, Arnold Tsunga and Innocent Gonese, representing
the accused, said yesterday they were denied access to their clients and
were unaware of the exact number of arrests. Tsunga said the
officer-in-charge of Chipangayi Police
      Station, where the suspects were being detained, was not open as to
how many people were arrested and what the charges were.

      "Initially the officer-in-charge who identified himself as Dharaba,
said 15 MDC members had been arrested," said Tsunga. "He later turned around
and said the number had risen to 100 people, but was non-committal on the
figure. "He denied us access to our clients. The police approach towards us
has been one of
      arrogance."

      The two lawyers were then ordered to leave the police station. Tsunga
said: "We are left with no option but to closely monitor which court they
are going to be taken to so as to represent them there. "They can only keep
them for 48 hours and if they do not release them, then we will lodge an
application with the Supreme Court. "This is abuse of the law by the police,
but we will have to live within that abuse and fight things out."

      Pishai Muchauraya, the MDC's spokesman for Manicaland, said he feared
that some of those granted bail yesterday could have been re-arrested. "The
police refused to co-operate with us," said Muchauraya. "Only God knows what
our supporters are being subjected to at the moment. We suspect that some of
our supporters have been re-arrested after the magistrate granted them
 bail."
      Efforts to get a comment from Edmund Maingire, the Manicaland police
spokesman, proved fruitless as he was constantly said to be out of his
office.

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Daily News

      Youth brigades unleashed in Mutare

      6/18/02 7:32:20 AM (GMT +2)


      By Kelvin Jakachira in Mutare

      ABOUT 100 youths from the Border Gezi Training Centre were last week
deployed in government departments and security agencies in Mutare. The
youths, part of a group recently trained at the notorious training camp in
Mt Darwin, have been assigned to the police department, the Central
Intelligence Organisation and the army's 3 Brigade headquarters in Chikanga
suburb, sources said.



      Others, according to the sources, have been deployed to the
government-run Central Mechanical Equipment Department and the Grain
Marketing Board depot in the city. But Reward Magama, the provincial head of
youth development in the Ministry of Youth Development, Gender and
Employment Creation, said there was nothing sinister about the deployments
or presence of the youths in the city.

      Magama said: "There are doing community service. That is part of their
training." Trainees of the Border Gezi Centre, along with overzealous ruling
Zanu PF activists and some elements in the war veterans' movement, have been
blamed for stoking the violence that engulfed the country before and after
March's presidential poll. But ruling Zanu PF party officials have denied
the charges, saying they were part of a smear campaign by those in the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

      Some of the youths, clad in their training uniforms, were spotted all
week helping police patrol the city's streets. There were increased police
patrols throughout the province last week, amid talk that the government was
on full alert to crush any mass action planned by opposition parties, human
rights and legal activities in protest to President Mugabe's controversial
re-election.
      The police said the increased patrols were part of routine exercises.
Despite the increased police patrols, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai on
Wednesday cancelled a post-election rally he was to address in Mutare South
after Zanu PF youths, some members of the youth militia and war veterans
prevented anyone from entering the venue.

      MDC provincial spokesman Pishai Muchauraya said a member of his party'
s youth wing was assaulted at the venue of the aborted rally. Christon
Mushunje, 24, the MDC youth chairman in the Chitora area of Mutare South,
was assaulted at the 22-Mile Centre. According to Muchauraya, Mushunje had
gone to the centre, the proposed venue for the MDC rally, without realising
there was trouble.
      "He was immediately attacked by a group of Border Gezi-trained youths
who were part of the gang preventing anyone from going to the site of the
rally," Muchauraya said.

      "There were about seven policemen when the incident happened, but they
didn't lift a finger to stop the assault," Muchauraya alleged.
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BBC
 
Tuesday, 18 June, 2002, 18:21 GMT 19:21 UK
Dozens charged in Zimbabwe after rally
MDC activists in a police station in April
Anti-government demonstrations have been repressed
Dozens of Zimbabwean opposition activists arrested at a rally on Sunday have been charged with violating strict new public order legislation.

A police spokesman told the BBC that 62 members of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) had been charged at a court in Harare and later released on bail.

President Robert Mugabe
Mugabe has tightened public order and media legislation
Several of those arrested said they had been tortured by the police.

The detainees included three journalists who work for the independent Daily News.

The newspaper says police broke the arm of one of the journalists, but officials have not confirmed this.

Also among the detainees was an opposition member of parliament, Munyaradzi Gwisai.

He told the BBC that women had been beaten up by police in MCD premises on Sunday, and that they had been made to crawl on the ground.

He said that people had been blindfolded and tortured in the police cells, describing the conditions as "savage".

'Humane police'

But a police spokesman told the BBC that he was not aware that any opposition activists had been injured.

He said the opposition was prone to exaggeration and that Zimbabwe has a "very humane" police force.

All 62 people released on Tuesday will go back to court for a remand hearing on Thursday.

Meanwhile, another magistrates' court in Harare has deferred until early July a decision on whether to proceed with charges against an American journalist who works for a British newspaper, The Guardian.

Andrew Meldrum is charged with publishing falsehoods under drastic new press laws.

He could face a hefty fine or a prison sentence of up to two years.

Andrew Meldrum
Meldrum's trial will resume in July

Last week, state-run media reported that President Mugabe had put security forces on high alert to crush any mass demonstrations calling for a re-run of the March presidential elections.

At the weekend, the Zimbabwean Government introduced more restrictions to the work of national and international reporters in what critics see as an attempt to limit foreign media in the country.

An amendment to the new media law says that foreign media companies will need to pay the equivalent of a total of $12,000 US to be registered.

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Outrageous Demands From War Vets



Zimbabwe Standard (Harare)
June 18, 2002
Posted to the web June 18, 2002
Chengetai Zvauya

War veterans, whose violent campaign helped President Mugabe to win the much
disputed March presidential election, are demanding an increase of 180% in
their monthly allowance, among a host of other financial demands, The
Standard has learnt. If the cash-strapped government accedes to the latest
demands, Zimbabwe's already overburdened tax payers will have to fork out an
extra $650 million per month.
Government is currently spending about $350 million per month in allowances
to war veterans, but this figure will balloon to $1 billion if the war
veterans' demands are met. War veterans' secretary-general, Andy Mhlanga,
confirmed to The Standard last week that they had made fresh demands for
their monthly allowances to be increased from $7 000 to $20 000.
They are also demanding an increase in the educational benefits for their
dependents from $5 000 to $35 000 per term and for funeral allowances to be
upped to $20 000.
Mhlanga was adamant that their demands were timely despite the parlous state
of the economy. "The increment is long overdue. How can we survive on $7
000. Our party must consider the role we played during the election periods
of June 2000 and March this year and reward us accordingly," said Mhlanga.
He added: "The situation was tough but the war veterans campaigned for the
party and our patron, so I don't see why our money shouldn't be increased.
The money has to be paid to all war veterans because of the role each played
in the liberation of this country. War veterans the world over are respected
and looked after by the government in appreciation of the role they played."
He said the war veterans would meet on Saturday to devise a scheme to push
for their demands. "In April, we sent the same demands in writing to the
ministry of defence and to our patron and we are still waiting for his
response. We are meeting now to stress that our demands be heard," said
Mhlanga.
In the March presidential poll, controversially won by Mugabe, over 100
people, mostly opposition supporters, were killed in a brutal campaign
orchestrated by Zanu PF militants with the tacit blessing from the state
security apparatus. In November 1997, bowing to the demands of the war
veterans then led by the late Chenjerai Hunzvi, Mugabe awarded them each a
once-off gratuity of $50 000 as well as a monthly allowance of $2 000.
This sent the once stable Zimbabwe dollar tumbling against major currencies
on what became infamously known as 'Black Friday'. In 1999 the war vets'
monthly allowance was increased to $5 500 and last year to $7 000. Apart
from the allowances, war veterans are also entitled to 20% of the land
acquired by the government under the fast track land resettlement programme.
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Air Fares Skyrocket
<

Zimbabwe Standard (Harare)
June 18, 2002
Posted to the web June 18, 2002
Paul Nyakazeya

The financially beleaguered national airline, Air Zimbabwe, on Friday more
than doubled some air fares to international destinations as it battles to
clear its crippling debts.
Documents in The Standard's possession show that Air Zimbabwe has increased
air fares to foreign destinations such as London, Mauritius, Johannesburg
and Nairobi.
The air fare from Harare to Johannesburg is now $121 123, up from $74 000,
reflecting an increase of $47 123. A traveller to Nairobi now has to pay
$178 000, a whopping $94 950 increase from the previous $83 050. A traveller
to Mauritius now has to pay $173 888, up from $81 125.
According to an Air Zimbabwe official, a ticket to London now costs between
$247 000 and $351 000. The popular route cost $182 050 before the latest
increase.
A spokesperson for the Association of Zimbabwe Travel Agents (AZTA)
yesterday said they had received the news with shock and horror. "The most
puzzling thing about it all is that Air Zimbabwe is failing to tell us why
such an increase is necessary. BR>
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MSNBC

Zimbabwe case against US journalist said flawed



HARARE, June 18 - A lawyer defending an American journalist accused under
Zimbabwe's tough new media laws of publishing a false story asked a judge on
Tuesday to dismiss the case, saying it was built on an unjust law.
       Beatrice Mtetwa said the state had failed to prove its case against
Andrew Meldrum, correspondent for Britain's Guardian newspaper.
       Prosecutor Thabani Mpofu said the state had put forward ''more than a
prima facie case'' that Meldrum was guilty of reproducing a false story in
the Guardian that said President Robert Mugabe's supporters had beheaded a
woman in a rural district earlier this year.
       Meldrum, a 50-year-old native of Hudson, Ohio, has pleaded not
guilty. If convicted, he faces a heavy fine or up to two years in jail.
       Mtetwa said technically Meldrum had not published the beheading story
in Zimbabwe and that by picking stories off the internet, Zimbabwe was
imposing its laws abroad.
       ''It would be a travesty of justice if this court was to proceed with
a case in which the state has failed to prove it has a case...and to honour
a law which is unjust and appears designed to suppress press freedom,'' she
said.
       She asked the regional magistrate's court -- which has been hearing
the case since last week -- to dismiss the charges.
       Magistrate Godfrey Macheyo said he needed time to consider the case
and would rule on July 12 on whether it should proceed or be dismissed.
       Mtetwa said Meldrum had correctly attributed the beheading story to a
Zimbabwe newspaper, The Daily News, and ''that is not false.'' The Daily
News has said the story was false and has apologised.
       The government says the story was part of a Western-backed campaign
to damage Mugabe's image since his re-election in March in a poll widely
criticised by western nations and the opposition as flawed.
       The government has adopted new media laws which critics say severely
curtail press freedom. Eleven journalists have been arrested for alleged
''abuse of journalistic privilege.'' Mugabe signed the measures into law
days after winning the March vote.
       Mtetwa said Zimbabwe had no extra-territorial powers to impose its
laws in other countries.
       But Mpofu said it was a crime under the new law to publish
''falsehoods.'' It did not matter where the story was published or the
circumstances.
       ''You may find it unreasonable, but it is the law. This court does
seek to mark parliament's work...we have to interpret the laws,'' he said.
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MSNBC


Zimbabwe policy up to troika - Commonwealth head



DAR ES SALAAM, June 18 - Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon said on
Tuesday Zimbabwe's efforts to solve its internal political problems had
stalled and it was up to a three-nation Commonwealth task force to address
the situation.
       ''The (Zimbabwean political) problem still remains,'' McKinnon told
reporters after meeting President Benjamin Mkapa on a visit to Tanzania.
       ''It is also recognised that the reconciliation process between the
two main parties has not resumed as wished.''
       He was referring to stalled efforts between the ruling ZANU PF party
and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) aimed at restoring
peace and economic stability in the southern African country after
controversial presidential elections in March.
       The Commonwealth suspended Zimbabwe for a year on March 19 after the
group's observers and the opposition reported serious flaws in President
Robert Mugabe's re-election.
       The decision was recommended by a Commonwealth task force that is in
charge of Zimbabwe policy: the so-called troika of Australian Prime Minister
John Howard, South African President Thabo Mbeki and Nigerian President
Olusegun Obasanjo.
       Mugabe was declared the winner of the elections. Reconcilation talks
began between the two parties, but ZANU-PF later suspended the discussions
until the country's courts rule on an MDC challenge to the result.

HUMANITARIAN AID
       The Commonwealth, a grouping of former British colonies, embraces
almost one third of the world's countries, grouping 1.7 billion people and
50 developing nations.
       McKinnon said that the political situation not withstanding, the
southern Africa country required humanitarian aid to assist thousands of
Zimbabweans facing starvation.
       ''The drought and the famine is something we have to address on
another track completely,'' he said.
       ''Despite the fact that Zimbabwe is somewhat offside with different
donor countries, sometimes you have to put such differences aside. We are
talking about a lot of people needing a lot of food and the more support
that can be given, so much the better.''
       Nearly 13 million people in six southern African countries are facing
starvation later this year due to drought and flooding, but Zimbabwe, where
food shortages are compounded by political turmoil, is viewed as most
vulnerable to famine.
       About half of Zimbabwe's 11.5 million people are hungry.
       McKinnon asked Western governments to reduce subsidies given to their
farmers to enable a level playing ground in trade.
       ''We have to keep beating the drum expecting the developed world to
make some really solid commitments about reducing these subsidies, tariffs,
eliminating quotas and licenses because these are totally distorting world
trade at the present time.''
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COMMERCIAL FARMERS' UNION
Farm Invasions And Security Report
Tuesday 18 June 2002

This report does not purport to cover all the incidents that are taking place in the commercial farming areas.  Communication problems and the fear of reprisals prevent farmers from reporting all that happens.  Farmers names, and in some cases farm names, are omitted to minimise the risk of reprisals.

NATIONAL REPORT IN BRIEF

  • On Blackmorvale, Chakari, the owners were not allowed to plant any of the 600 hectares of wheat they were due to plant, and settlers have not planted either, despite receiving free seed.  The owners have offered half their farm to Government, but have not been allowed to farm for two seasons now. 
  • On Railway Farm 5, Battlefields, the owner was told he is growing his winter cereal crop illegally.  
  • Chipinge – Cattle, in the process of moving from one farm to another for grazing, had some go astray.  In his search for the strays, the owner found one had already been slaughtered.
  • On Exwick Farm, Selous, a Mr Ruinga from the C.I.O, who has been threatening the owner with an AK47, got the keys to the sheds.  Several hundred thousand dollars worth of property was stolen.  After high-level intervention, the police recovered much of the equipment, but no one was arrested.  Mr Makoni, another of the "war vets" who has been causing problems on the farm, demanded the keys to the second homestead and threw out the manager with all his belongings.  Nobody was arrested.  This is a de-listed farm.
  • At Naude's Rest Farm, Matabeleland South, A2 settlers ordered the owner’s cattle be off the property by the end of June. The owner has no other place to keep these animals, as 100% of the property has been designated.  Poaching is rife, with three zebra found dead last week, and a cow caught in a snare on 13.06.02. Snares are picked up on a daily basis.  Police have responded to take reports, but it seems this is where the investigations end.

REGIONAL NEWS

MANICALAND

Chipinge – Cattle, in the process of moving from one farm to another for grazing, had some go astray.  In his search for the strays, the owner found one had already been slaughtered.

Chimanimani - Continuous snaring.

All other districts are quiet.

MASHONALAND CENTRAL
No report received.

MASHONALAND EAST

Macheke/Virginia – a DDF tractor was ploughing on one farm and there was fencing stolen on another farm.  A farmer, who was meant to have been delisted, had tractors ploughing up seedbeds.  One farmer encountered a roadblock on his way home, but the issue was resolved.  Various items were stolen on another farm.

MASHONALAND WEST (NORTH)
No report received.

MASHONALAND WEST (SOUTH)

Selous - On Exwick Farm a Mr Ruinga from the C.I.O, who has been threatening the owner with an AK47, got the keys to the sheds.  Several hundred thousand dollars worth of property was stolen.  After high-level intervention, the police recovered much of the equipment, but no one was arrested.  Mr Makoni, another of the "war vets" who has been causing problems on the farm, demanded the keys to the second homestead and threw out the manager with all his belongings.  Nobody was arrested.  This is a de-listed farm.

Suri-Suri - On Kasama Farm three cattle were discovered killed, and there are signs of more cattle killed recently as well.

Chakari - On Deweras Farm C.I.O individuals continue to use pipes commandeered from the owner.  They are growing twelve hectares of wheat, and have prevented the owner from growing wheat on the other 70 hectares.  They now want the owner’s boom sprayers and other equipment. The owner previously gave up two farms to Government and this is now his only farm. On Chevy Chase the owner has still not been allowed to plant any wheat despite doing land prep and being on an unlisted farm.  On Blackmorvale the owners were not allowed to plant any of the 600 hectares of wheat they were due to plant, and settlers have not planted either, despite receiving free seed.  The owners have offered half their farm to Government, but have not been allowed to farm for two seasons now. 

Battlefields - On Railway Farm 5 the owner was told he is growing his winter cereal crop illegally. 

General - Farmers are pressurised to make deals.  The international banks demand letters of comfort, which are not issued by the authorities, although the authorities state that if farmers give land to Government a letter will be issued.  We, the regional Office, do not know of any cases where a letter has been issued by the acquiring authority to date.  The local banks appear to be happy to still give loans. In Kadoma, district officials visit farmers and tell them to stop production and to be out of their houses within the 90-day limit from the issuing of the Section 8. 

MASVINGO

Masvingo East and Central – in general, there have been teams under the Land Committee’s and Agritex’ auspices, going around to certain properties over the weekend. These teams collected owners’ details on farming background, hectarage previously planted, cattle previously stocked, water supplies, dams etc, and in some cases enquired how many bedrooms are in the homestead.  Bon Air Farm is experiencing an upsurge in snaring of game. A snare was removed from one Brahman bull. There are reports of plenty of fencing stolen. At Shallock Park Farm, a person driving in a vehicle approached the owner and threatened him and the labour with eviction within 24 hours. This person was believed to be on his way to the beer hall on Yettom Farm. This incident was reported to the PA and the Police. Police have reacted and have said that they will follow up.

Save Conservancy - The promised group of 40 people from Support Unit arrived on the night of 12.06.02, but only 22 members were dispersed. Since then six of them have been pulled back. To date 28 arrests have been made.  Poaching escalation continues.

Gutu / Chatsworth – the Nuwejaar Farm owner reports an upsurge in stock theft this past week. Two beef and two dairy cows were stolen. There is a corresponding increase in wire theft, which has led to the manufacture of snares, some of which were recovered in the farm paddocks. A dairy cow and the owner’s farm dog recently had snares removed from them. Bath Farm reports occupants in an unregistered vehicle visited the owner and made requests for soil samples, figures, amounts of equipment etc for “resettlement purposes”.

Mwenezi - Ongoing cutting and clearing, movement of people, theft and continued poaching. At Lot 21A the owner caught a man by the name of James Mhlanga, in possession of a firearm; a rifle with the butt cut off. The offender is said to be working for the Farm Development Trust, and drives a vehicle with registration number 672-542B.  The owner followed Mhlanga to the end of his property, where Mhlanga resides on an allocated plot of ground.

MIDLANDS
No report received.

MATABELELAND
Matabeleland South - Sandown North Farm and Sections of Sandown South report that A2 settlers have moved about 120 head of weaners, and another 39 cattle on to the property recently. Unconfirmed reports are that the cattle came from Masvingo. The owner has not been able to check what permits were obtained for this. This section of property is the last area the owner has to keep his cattle since he was ordered to remove all cattle from Sandown North by Croft Ndlovu (Senior War Vet in Plumtree) in June 2000.  At Naude's Rest Farm, A2 settlers ordered the owner’s cattle be off the property by the end of June. The owner has no other place to keep these animals, as 100% of the property has been designated.  Poaching is rife, with three zebra found dead last week, and a cow caught in a snare on 13.06.02. Snares are picked up on a daily basis.  Police have responded to take reports, but it seems this is where the investigations end.
 
aisd1@cfu.co.zw                                               Visit the CFU Website www.mweb.co.zw/cfu

 

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Unless specifically stated that this message is a Commercial Farmers' Union communiqué, or that it is being issued or forwarded to you by the sender in an official CFU capacity, the opinions contained therein are private. Private messages also include those sent on behalf of any organisation not directly affiliated to the Union. The CFU does not accept any legal responsibility for private messages and opinions held by the sender and transmitted over its local area network to other CFU network users and/or to external addressees.
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