Mugabe on the brink

Izak Daniel Nel and Gert Cornelius Terblanche, are brothers-in-law. They are farmers with holdings in Zimbabwe bought in 1986. They are white.They are South African.

State Security Minister Didymus Mutasa is reported to have personally issued them with a 90 day eviction order, an order they have defied and as a result they appeared in a Karoi magistrates’ court on Tuesday to resist the Order.

Their lawyer claims, “The effects of Mr Mutasa’s order – which in fact wasn’t served up properly and in accordance of the law – was that his notice to vacate violated the principles of Zimbabwean government Investment Centre Act, which is promulgated by parliament and has not been repealed.”

Mutasa, who oversees what he calls the land reform programme, says they are farming illegally on a state farm, which they deny, and they have carried on farming since the threats of evictions started. Theire estates called Dundazi in Mashonaland West province are said to be some of the best tobacco, maize and wheat growers in the country, and have just delivered 5,000 tonnes of maize to the Grain Marketing Board.

The 2 farmers had shown their commitment for land reform way back in 1997, by subdividing the farm for resettlement. This happened as part of an agreement with the local District Administrator that half of the farm would be given to settlers and a successful business programme and working relationship is said to have been working with the settlers since 1997.

The other half of the farm, which is co-shared and divided into two plots by the brothers-in-law, produces 2 500 tonnes of wheat and 500 tonnes of tobacco.

It is said that their farmland is earmarked for a Mr. Day Muyambo – who already has two farms in the Chipinge area – and is using his sister’s name Delina Muyambo to acquire Terblanche’s plot. Lot One which is owned by Nel is allegedly going to a man known as Mr C. Matsika who is said to own Twin Rivers Hotel in Karoi and also has business interests in South Africa. He is said to have farming interests in a farm called Wingate in that province.

A decision on the Karoi trial is expected on Friday but the brothers in law's lawyer, David Drury, said the Mutasa case is incompetent and has no effect, as it is being heard in the wrong court.

Drury said the magistrate’s court has no power to deal with eviction matters; “Where the commercial value, possession of the land, crops and so on exceeds the magistrate’s court jurisdiction – which has the monetary value of ZW$50 000. These people have crops on the ground which exceeds that by many thousands or hundreds of million dollars.”

It is claimed that this case is the deflection point on a total white exodus of the remaining 3,000 white farmers - many of whom have fled to Zambia, Mozambique and Nigeria.

With 80% unemployment, 1,200% annual inflation .. it is difficult to see how Waitrose and M & S will be providing their Zimbabwean prepared sugar snaps for much longer.

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