Masvingo farmer in hiding after assault and threat of arrest

A Masvingo farmer who was assaulted and taken hostage for several hours by a
group of suspected ZANU PF supporters last week, is now in hiding after a
warrant for his arrest was issued hours after the attack against him.

Johannes Nel, a commercial cattle farmer in Gutu, was last Friday attacked
by gang of invaders who first raided his property before launching a vicious
assault on him. He was then bundled into a truck and taken hostage for
almost six hours before being dumped on the roadside about 80km away from
his farm. Despite being badly injured and in serious need of medical
attention, a local magistrate issued a warrant for Nel's arrest mere hours
after the attack, forcing the farmer into hiding.

Nel is just one of many of the country's remaining commercial farmers now in
hiding as the fresh wave of farm invasions continues unabated. More than a
100 farmers, arrested for refusing to leave their productive farms, are now
facing prosecution, with at least one farmer's case already being fast
tracked through the legal system. In Karoi, farmer Andrew Herbst was
sentenced to six months' in prison, suspended on condition that he vacated
his property within seven days.

At the same time, many farmers are now living in makeshift camps on
roadsides after being physically forced off their land, in what Justice for
Agriculture's (JAG) John Worsley-Worswick on Tuesday called 'intensified
attacks'. Worsley-Worswick told SW Radio Africa that invasions and arrests
have continued on almost a daily basis, and explained that "there has been a
profound escalation of attacks" in recent weeks.

The fresh invasions have previously been linked to ZANU PF loyalists
determined to continue the Mugabe initiated land-grab, before the power
share government can intervene. But Worsley-Worswick on Tuesday explained
there is a more sinister motive behind the attacks. He argued that the
sudden rush of farm evictions have come at the same time a probe has been
launched into the use of the R300 million agricultural input package from
South Africa.

There have been justifiable fears that the agricultural rescue package has
been completely squandered for the personal benefit of ZANU PF officials, as
most of the farming inputs included in the package, including seed,
fertisliser and machinery, have been hoarded in urban areas by what
Worsley-Worswick called "the ZANU PF political hierarchy."

"With a probe under way into how the farming inputs have been used, it is
essential the hierarchy finds productive farms to show off,"
Worsley-Worswick explained. "These officials have also been able to afford
to pay off thugs to do the dirty work and get rid of the farmers."

The revelation also comes as a delegation from the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) is in Zimbabwe to investigate the possibility of resuming
financial relations with the country. The appearance of productive farms,
owned and run by the government is therefore critical to ensure that money
starts flowing into Zimbabwe again, as was laid out by the conditions of the
power share agreement that ushered in the unity government. The remaining
commercial farms are therefore obvious targets for invasions, as the farms
owned by government officials or handed over to land-grab beneficiaries are
completely barren and unproductive.

Meanwhile, an official at the South Africa-Zimbabwe Joint Permanent
Commission for Cooperation being held in Victoria Falls has said Zimbabwe
needs to "guarantee the protection of private investments," such as land, if
the economy is to recover quickly. This is according to South Africa's
Business Day newspaper, which reported this week that "by being seen to be
bringing an end to the violent invasion of farmland, SA believed that
Zimbabwe would bring political stability and 'reduce the lack of trust' in
the new power-sharing government by foreign and regional donors."