Zimbabwe: New wave of violent farm evictions

PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Commercial Farmers’ Union of Zimbabwe ISSUED BY: CFU President Deon Theron 21 January 2010
Zimbabwe: New wave of violent farm evictions
The Commercial Farmers’ Union (CFU) deplores the fact that Zimbabwe’s Government of National Unity (GNU) has
failed to stop a few extremists from openly threatening, physically attacking and illegally evicting commercial farmers
and their workers. These ongoing acts of lawlessness, which escalated over Christmas and are spreading into other
provinces, violate the basic principles enunciated in the Global Political Agreement (GPA). In order to turn the
economy around and address the country’s shocking unemployment rate [over 90 percent] and now endemic poverty,
notably in the rural areas, Zimbabwe needs meaningful investment. However before this can happen, the international
community will need to see that the rule of law is not being applied selectively and that property rights, court orders and
signed agreements are respected.
Attacks continue despite BIPPA with SA
Despite the signing of a Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA) with South Africa on
November 27, attacks on South African nationals operating productive commercial farms in this country have
increased. Since Christmas, there have been numerous attacks and evictions and, as we make this statement, these acts
of lawlessness are continuing.
In a widely publicized statement that shocked the international investment community, Attorney-General Johannes
Tomana said he approved of sending soldiers onto farms to help to remove their occupants for ignoring what he termed
“government directives”. We now have a banana farm in Manicaland which is protected by a BIPPA agreement with
Malaysia and the Netherlands invaded by the military, and the bananas being reaped illegally and sold in Harare. This
reckless statement by the Attorney General - and the subsequent action - will have severe consequences for our country
and the transitional government.
Zimbabwe’s army cannot legally be involved in law enforcement as the country is not operating under a state of
emergency. Before any soldier could even leave the barracks for the role Mr Tomana has suggested, the President would
need to officially declare a State of Emergency. Such a decision would have to be taken in consultation with Cabinet
and, under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, our government would also have to advise the UN Security
Council, through the UN Secretary General.
Failure to respect the rule of law
Our statutes clearly set out the legal requirements regarding evictions. The Attorney General’s Office must first
successfully prosecute an accused person in a court of law to completion, and government must then provide vacant
occupation before any beneficiary can move onto the property. To clarify the above, government must remove the
farmer from the farm through a court order, and only when the farmer has vacated the farm can the beneficiary legally
move on. The Attorney General does not have the authority to direct the military to take action against its own
citizens. Concurrently, new jambanjas[1] in the Karoi area are being proposed by the Area Lands Committee Chairman,
Temba Mliswa, a relative of Minister Didymus Mutasa. [Mr Mutasa was previously Minister of State for National
Security, Lands, land Reform and Resettlement in the President’s Office.]
Mr Mliswa is notorious for relying on intimidation and violence to achieve his objectives. He has operated with
impunity under the previous Zanu PF government and, despite the formation of the Government of National Unity,
continues to do so. In addition to oppressing Zimbabwe’s white commercial farmers, Mr Mliswa is also threatening to
attack black A2[2] farmers who rent land to white farmers. The question needs to be asked: Under whose authority is
he acting? Furthermore, the CFU would like to know whether Mr Mliswa’s reckless promise to redistribute farms to
anyone who joins his jambanjas has any authority or justification.
We reiterate that these violently orchestrated jambanjas are completely contrary to the GPA and the rule of law. They
must be both rejected and put a stop to immediately by the GNU.
Allocation of any land must only be done in full accordance with the law by legally constituted bodies. It is time that
people like Mr Mliswa and the Attorney General showed respect for and complied with the conditions agreed to in the
Global Political Agreement, and adhered to Zimbabwe’s international commitments.
The SADC Tribunal based in Windhoek, Namibia, has ruled that the 17th Amendment[3] to the Zimbabwean
Constitution not only violates the principles of the rule of law but is racist. Racism is recognized universally as being a
crime against humanity, for very good reasons. It should never be tolerated by any state or government, whether it is
white-on-black, black-on-white, or any other variation. Racism is an evil, and Zimbabwe should now implement the
commitments it has made by the signing of numerous treaties against any state-sanctioned racism. Violations of this will
only invite new international action against Zimbabwe.
Clarification required by GNU
In view of the untenable situation and adverse publicity, we pose the following questions to the Government of
National Unity:
1. Should Zimbabwe, a voluntary signatory to the Convention for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
(CERD), be forced to appear before the UN Committee established by the CERD Treaty [a committee which
reports directly to the Security Council] to explain the continuing invasions?
1. Can the members of the GNU afford to embarrass themselves and their country, as well as SADC and the AU,
by becoming a Security Council agenda item at this stage?
1. Can the GNU confirm that it is now government policy to take land back from black farmers because they have
chosen to rent it to white farmers?
1. Is the GNU committed to ensuring that 2010 will be a period of recovery for all Zimbabweans, or will the
nation continue to suffer under the lawlessness of a few?
We reiterate: what commercial farmers and their workers are being subjected to constitutes crimes against humanity.
It is time for the GNU to take a principled stand in this regard. As white commercial farmers, we are committed to
respect of the law and to producing food for this nation so that Zimbabwe once again becomes food secure. However,
we cannot achieve this without the unequivocal support of the GNU and without the restoration of the rule of law.
A burden on donor community and SADC
It is an appalling state of affairs that, as a result of the virtual destruction of the commercial farming sector, our country
has had to rely on food aid from the international donor community for almost a decade. We are also very conscious of
the burden that the ongoing crisis in Zimbabwe places on our neighbours in the SADC region. The fall-out from our
political and economic crisis has had very serious consequences for the entire subcontinent, impacting on food security,
investment, development and tourism. It has also resulted in a mass exodus of well over three million people – men,
women and children, many of them rendered destitute - who have flooded into the region.
Commitment of SADC and South Africa
We thank the SADC leaders for their ongoing mediation and the South African government in particular for its
commitment to resolving the impasse. President Jacob Zuma’s well-informed and authoritative approach to the crisis is
of immeasurable value. The South African government’s statement of January 17 that formal contact has been made
with the Zimbabwean government on issues raised by South African farmers under siege in Zimbabwe represents an
important milestone in the decade-long crisis.
If the rule of law is restored and the situation on the ground in the commercial farming sector is resolved, every single
person in Zimbabwe will benefit, both in terms of food security and because our economy is agri-based. The CFU calls
on the GNU to meet with us and to commit itself to halting the farm invasions so that together we can to chart a way
forward for the rebuilding of Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector.
DEON THERONPresident
Commercial Farmers’ Union
Harare,
Zimbabwe
Tel: +263 4 309 800 Zim Cell: +263 912 246 233 E-mail: