If something is wrong: a tale of torture and abuse

Titled: If Something is Wrong, the report is by a large part a recording of the farm workers voices narrating the harassment, beatings and torture they endured at the hands of the so-called war veterans. It is a most depressing record. Excerpts from the report:

(Pictured: A group of farm invaders)

Worker 7 describes how her house was burnt down: — My house at the farm was burnt down so I just sought a place for my kids to stay. There is nothing that I could do because all my belongings were gutted by fire. What happened is that they first beat me up and injured me in the process and they asked us to leave.

We just moved a short distance away and on our return we discovered that they had burnt down the houses. They were saying that the country was not won using the pen; it was won using the gun so we were accused of wanting to give away the country to the whites.

(Pictured: Zanu (PF) supporters march in support of farm invasions.)

We did not do anything. We were just accused of voting for MDC, quite a number of us were beaten up at the farm, the five of us. I do not even know where the MDC meetings were held. I do not know why these people thought that we were MDC members. Because of the beating I was injured around the eye area.

They beat me with clubs. We reported the issue so that we could get help with medical attention but the police officers just came and they did not do anything at all. We reported at X police station.

They did not give us a response, they just said that they had recorded the case and they now had it in their files. At the hospital I did not get any help either. They just gave me a prescription which I was not able to buy because my house had been burnt down. We lost some blankets, clothes; I and my kids do not have anything to wear right now, maize, plates, containers, sunflower seed and peanuts.

A political case

Worker 11 describes torture: — We were then taken, all of us. It was me A, B was also there , I mentioned them by name, C was also taken , we were driving the tractors and the other one was driving the lorry and the other one was a manager.

We were taken and we were made to lie on the ground with one with his head this side, another with his head this side and another with his head this side. And they told us to sleep on the ground. This happened at home in the evening. So we were made to make grids that they walked on top of as they did their toyi-toyi on top of us, on our backs. It was S and his youth who were doing this. There were quite a number of them.

When it dawned to me that we were going to die unnecessarily I decided to go against the rules and quickly got up when it had dawned to me that I was going to be hurt because they were stepping on me. We were then beaten up with some knobkerries that they had when we rose from the ground.

So when the others saw that I was being beaten up because I had risen from the ground they also got up because they were also in pain. They beat us all over, on the back, ha a all over. Can you see that there are cracks here and there? [Indicates scars.] It is the whip that they used on me. I dont know what it was like which caused all this.

As they were beating me up I realized that there was nothing that I could do so I jumped over the security fence. I managed to escape, then we went to the police station and we briefed the police officers what had transpired. The police officers said alright, stay here, so that we see who else comes So D came, C came and we told them what had transpired and we slept in the cells at the police station. We woke up the next day and we waited. It was now 9 oclock and nothing had been done and then we enquired about the progress. They told us their case was a difficult one because it was a political case.

A member of MDC

Worker 24 narrates beating by soldiers: — We were at the workshop welding a broken trailer and then suddenly a Land Cruiser came to the farm. It was a Zimbabwe National Army Land Cruiser. It went and parked in the compound and they stood right in the middle of the compound armed with AK47 rifles.

They were Presidential Guards; there were 10 of them. I was in the workshop and I just saw them, all over the compound. I didnt know what they wanted because they went to the store keepers house.

When I was busy welding the Presidential Guards came and asked to see the driver. There was a chap who suspected that the driver that they wanted to see was me so he came round the workshop with the intention of tipping me off because he knew that I was in the workshop where I was busy welding.

At the same time I had run out of welding rods so I got out of the workshop and headed for As house to ask for some more welding rods. I got to As house where he was busy shelling the maize. So I was already out of the workshop and I was at As house by the time that chap got into the workshop to tip me off. So when I got to As house one of the Presidential Guards who was armed with a gun arrived at the same time as me and he told me that he was looking for the driver.

He asked for my name and I told him. He was holding a paper with a list of names. I also told him that I was the driver. He asked me to follow him because they were looking for me because I was a member of the MDC. He dragged me and then he asked if A was the one who was shelling the maize. When A heard his name being asked for he said no he wasnt the one but rather he was B. The Presidential Guard argued with him and insisted he was A and A also argued and insisted that his surname was B. They asked him to come along.

They grabbed us both and then we got to a place where people were drinking beer and

they made us lie on the ground and they started beating us up. It was at some other guys house. They started beating us up and my colleague cried and I assumed that he was going to die on the spot. They used sticks like the ones that are used as fire wood. We were beaten up and the sticks were breaking. I was wearing a dust coat and I was asked to take it off and I was made to lie on the ground.

Most people fled the compound when we were being beaten up because they were afraid that they could also be beaten. But they just beat up the two of us because most of the people that they were looking for had fled. They got into the car and drove off after they had finished beating us up. It happened in 2003. We were beaten so badly on our backs that one would dread looking at them.

You know when one is beaten up with a sjambok on their back, it will be marred by lines and it will be red with clotted blood. Our backs were sore such that it was even difficult for usto sit down. There was a lorry that belonged to [the farmer] and A and I decided to go to the clinic that night, on the very day that we were beaten up, soon after we had been bashed. We went to the clinic and we saw [a nurse] and we showed her our scars and she couldnt help it and she started crying.

By the roadside

Worker 8 describes eviction of entire labour force: — The workers were actually surprised when they were told that it was now the end and the war vets did not want to see them in the compound anymore because they were on Murungus side.

The war vets turned against the workers at that very moment and all the promises that the workers were going to be given land faded at that very moment. We did not even know where to go since we did not even have somewhere to go. We were now in trouble since we did not have anywhere to go.

We remained in our houses in the compound hoping that the settlers were going to have pity on us so that we could have ample time to plan on where we were going to go.

They then came and forcefully removed the workers from the compound houses, using Jambanja and they were checking the houses. They checked house to house and they asked us to move our belongings out of the houses. We moved our belongings out of the houses and the youths were instructed to assist us to ferry our belongings to the main road. There was a main road close to the farm.

They also went to the next farm and they did the same thing until they had finished evicting all the farm workers from the houses. All the farm workers were all now gathered at the main road.

The war vets said to us you have been given money so you can hire motor vehicles and go where ever you want to go as long as you are not at the farm for we never want to see you at the farm anymore. So we were gathered at the road with the women and children. It was during the school term such we had to temporarily stop the children from going to school. The school children had to stop going to school.

It was during the cold season, just after August. It will not be hot yet in August. It was still cold. I spent five days on the road side. We lit a fire and we would cook some food that we had brought from the compound. We cooked and ate by the road side. There were some who had rural homes nearby, they looked for scotch carts to hire and their belongings were ferried by the scotch carts and they paid high hiring fees.

This was because these people who were hiring their scotch carts out knew that the farm workers had been given some money so they were charging as they pleased and we had no option since we wanted our belongings to be moved to wherever we were going. That is how we moved. I didnt even know where to start from. It just crossed my mind that I had to get into the reserves which were nearby.

I then got into the nearby reserves and I spoke to the headman of that area. I explained the situation to him and he said that it was not a problem at all since there were some vacant places in the area. He said that I could get two acres were I could stay and farm but I had to pay some money. During those days the amount of money was quite a lot. I paid $5 000.00 for the two acres. Paying was not a problem since I had been paid my terminal benefits the S.I.6 pack. I paid the $5 000 and I was given a place to stay

Still traumatized

Security guard describes murder of white farmer: — We once went to react at a farm named X Farm. We went to X with the intention of assisting after a white woman had called and told us that the yard was invaded by thieves. When we arrived at the farm we discovered that there were some war veterans who were there after we had seen them beating drums at Murungus main gate. We quickly realized that it was Jambanja and we decided to make a U-turn so that we could get away from Jambanja but the war veterans identified us as soon as we made the U-turn.

(On our way from the farm) We then saw a police vehicle coming behind us. So when the police saw us they asked us to go back to the scene. We then went back together to the scene with the police. So when we got there the police started by silencing the mayhem which was there because the people were singing and beating drums.

So when the police were putting the house in order, we took the opportunity to flee the scene after we had concluded that we could get into trouble if we remained at the scene. We were afraid because we had been told not to get involved in politics because we were just there to safeguard Varungus assets.

Later we learnt that war veterans wanted Murungus farm so when the war veterans got to the farm they beat him up until he died. We heard he was beaten up and he died on the spot. The wife had not yet noticed that her husband was dead because the husband was not killed in the yard. I think they forced their way and then she locked herself in the house. She only got out when the police officers came to the farm. The body was later found in the cave.

This really affected us to the extent that we just wanted to resign because we were afraid to keep on working in that area because there was a risk that we could lose our lives anytime. Werealized that if we kept on working in that area we could lose our lives or we could get hurt since we were based in the farms

In closing, it seems apt to end with the words of Worker 19: — The land acquisition programme traumatised us a great deal because of the way it was carried out. Because a lot of people were traumatised most of them do not have anywhere to stay to date, they do not have enough food and clothing. Murungu used to help us in a lot of aspects.

So right now a lot of people are suffering, you would really appreciate that people are suffering a great deal if you could talk to the rest of the people on the farms. Those like me who are in Harare are far much better because Varungu are helping us here and there. If you see some of the whites that we used to work with you can actually see that they are traumatised. They are still traumatised so I would say that the land acquistion programme was very wrong.