The Ugly Face of Land Reform’

A farming family’s story of torment and intimidation at the hands of a top cop and green bombers.[Standfirst] Last week we carried the first part of Digby and Jessie Nesbitt’s nightmare tale of the invasion of their home by Assistant Police Commissioner Veterai and his gang of green bombers. Here, we continue their story of threat, harassment and fear.Veterai carried his pistol with him at all times but whenever he arrived back from Harare, normally late at night, he always carried his folding AK47 machine gun too. He seemed fearful that we would harm him and always locked his bedroom door.Our staff were prevented from coming to work for two days by the green bombers. Our maid, Chipo, was crying constantly and suffering severe headaches. She had also been chased away from her house in December and was having to share a room with a friend.On the Saturday, we had a few visitors during the morning, which we really appreciated as the visitors brought us groceries and because it was such a pleasure to see some friendly faces. While we were talking, the green bombers and Veterai’s relatives were playing music loudly, trying to irritate us.That evening, while we were sitting on the steps outside the lounge with our doctor and his wife, men dressed in army uniforms appeared with a group of people in ordinary clothes. The next moment, we saw crates of beer, liquor and coke being carried into the lounge – obviously, a big party was being planned for that night. We knew we were in for a night of intimidation.   As soon as our guests had left, we locked ourselves in our bedroom.The power had gone out at 5pm and stayed off till 11pm, so it seemed the party was destined to be a flop but – with vehicles coming and going all night and with people clearly walking past the bedroom window until late – there was little peace.On the Sunday morning, Jessie went to her mother’s cottage to feed her two cats. She had to climb through the window again. Veterai’s manager and another man had been sleeping in the lounge every night. On the way back, she saw Veterai and about 12 of his guards having a meeting.Later that morning, around 12 members of our church tried to come to visit after the service, but were not allowed in. They tried everything to persuade the guards to let them in and spent a couple of hours arguing with them, until eventually the minister and his wife were allowed through. They gave us communion and were only allowed to stay for about 15 minutes.    On the Monday, Jessie went again to the cottage and found Veterai sprawled on the couch in the lounge with three or four men around him having a meeting. She pretended she had seen nothing – sticking to her oath on the Bible that she would never say another word to him for fear of being accused of saying something she hadn’t said, which was his way of intimidating and provoking them.By Tuesday, our lawyers in Masvingo had managed to draw up a court order to have Veterai evicted from the farm until the court case on March 10. The court order stated that he had to evacuate the farm with immediate effect and that he could not come within 30 metres of the farm. Needless to say, this was totally ignored and nothing happened.By this time, the guards were allowing visitors, but not more than two cars at one time. They wanted everyone’s names, ID numbers, vehicle registration numbers and the reason for visiting. For the rest of the week, Veterai, his family and staff came and went.The only way we were coping with this unbelievable invasion of our privacy and intimidation was through our faith in God and our many friends and family who prayed continually and sent many SMS messages, giving us encouragement and support.Many people brought us groceries, which were accepted with gratitude because by this time we had very little food left in our kitchen. I just want to mention that we had incredible support from many blacks as well as whites. We had many visits and phone calls from black friends and people we hardly knew, which we really appreciated.On the Saturday afternoon, we were in their bedroom when the dogs started barking madly. We saw two men walking past the bedroom, and one was carrying a gun. It was a false alarm – only our groom who was bringing the war veteran, called Satan, from the farm next door. Satan had come to say he was on our side and did not want us to leave their farm.Satan, a genuine war vet, had lived next door for around six years and said that all the local veterans supported us and did not want Veterai taking over the farm. He said that Veterai had approached him and other war vets in the area and asked them to help jambanja us, but they had refused out of respect for us. He said he knew how much we had done for the community in the Lowveld, including building an orphanage in Chiredzi, now home to 47 orphans. We also built a clinic on the farm, which had helped many people over the years, but was now occupied by some of Veterai’s staff.On the Sunday morning, we woke to the sound of rapid gunfire just outside the yard. The dogs were barking like crazy and we panicked. When Jessie went to the kitchen, she found four women cooking on her stove. In the dining room, Veterai was sitting at the dining room table with about six other men, eating sadza and having a meeting. They stayed most of the morning and we had people all over the house and in the garden.   Our friend Leon Kruger came around for tea and a visit so we went to sit outside in the corner of the garden, far from the maddening crowd. While we were sitting there, Jessie felt such a weight on her chest that she thought she was on the verge of having a heart attack. She went to the lounge, ignoring Veterai, who was still sitting in the dining room with his children and another man, and listened to her Christian CD. She just needed something to calm her nerves. The green bombers stared at her as though she were mad because she was singing with the music. She sat on the carpet, in full view of Veterai, and played with the dogs while listening to the music. The next minute, Veterai disappeared down the passage, came back with two bags in his hands and went out the door.We discovered later that the gunshots had been some of Veterai’s men doing target practice right outside our yard!                       – To be continued next week