The Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) said dozens of white farmers in Manicaland were under pressure to leave immediately.
“The farmers are being told to pack up and leave their homes,” the CFU said in a statement. “They have been informed that police will not assist if the new ‘owner’ comes and throws their belongings out of their houses.”
The CFU said all the farmers were challenging the Section 8 notices in court, and had applied for a stay of execution to harvest their winter crop.
“These applications appear to have been ignored by the individuals involved in the evictions,” the CFU.
The evictions fly in the face of appeals by Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono that evictions of the remaining white farmers must stop forthwith.
CFU officials said the farmers who were still on their properties were those who had been encouraged by government to stay on the land and grow winter crops.
“Government is now issuing compulsory acquisition orders to everybody,” one farmer said. “Farmers are being told to get out of their only homes by government officials.”
Transport and Communications deputy minister Hubert Nyanhongo has contemptuously defied two orders by the High Court to move off Gwindingwi farm in Burma Valley owned by white farmer Johan Vorster.
The farm was highly mechanized and produced bananas for local and export markets.
Nyanhongo has seized valuables at the farm including 45 tonnes of fertiliser, 100 tonnes of bananas, six tractors, 15 trailers, a Mazda pick-up truck, irrigation equipment and a seven-tonne CK10 Nissan lorry. The farm seizures are being repeated across the province by senior government officials and security officials.
Post published in: News