Action Alert: Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank coordinating thugs on Friedewil Farm, Chinhoyi
Since yesterday afternoon, Louis Fick of Friedewil Farm in Lions Den, Chinhoyi, has once again been unable to enter his farm because the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank, Mashwiringwani, is intent on forcing the South African national to share two of his remaining pig pens with settlers who have seized 98% of his land to date.
Fick has attempted to live peaceably with the invaders and maintained viable production of 4000 pigs up until last year. But in April 2008 he was besieged by the same reserve bank official and made a decision to drop his production to 1000 pigs.
When the small gang of thugs was brought on to the farm yesterday afternoon, the senior workers were forced to flee in fear of their lives. The police were called, but refused to respond as they declared it was a political issue. A further 50 to 60 reinforcement thugs were then brought on to the farm. Since then the police have visited once to prevent further violence.
Fick was told by the police that he must attend a meeting to discuss sharing the contended pens, but is unwilling to lose any more of his decimated business. The cattle on his property have also been moved by the thugs on the farm in to a fenced area and are also not being tended to.
Fick has tried every avenue to help his starving animals. The piglets will soon die, and a pig should drink at least 40 litres of water per day. They have received no water since yesterday afternoon.
Last year Fick’s workers entered the besieged farm by leopard crawling under the fence at night to feed and water the distressed animals. But the farmer now feels that he cannot endanger the workers lives in this manner.
He called the MDC Minister of Home Affairs, Giles Mutsekiwa, but his calls went unanswered. Lovemore Kudindi of Jomic was also called, and his response was that Jomic are planning to tour the Chinhoyi area in two weeks time and they will discuss the issue then. The Prime Minister is currently engaged in discussions with his executive on the way forward.
It is high time the MDC finally did something to remedy the threatened food reserves in this starving nation.
The South African embassy has also been deafeningly quiet once again and has done nothing to assist this South African national. As a South African he is meant to be protected under the SADC Tribunal ruling that they be allowed to remain on their land.
The rule of law, food security and 98% unemployment seem to be no consideration in Zanu PF’s ongoing attempts at deflecting blame for the collapse in our nation.
UPDATE – 14 September 2009:
In the meanwhile, Louis Fick, farming at Friedewal Farm in Chegutu is still trying to ensure that the livestock on his farm his fed and taken care of. He was allowed to feed the pigs yesterday, and was told that they could pipe in water today. However, the pieline is broken and the workers on Friedewal Farm have been told they cannot repair it. The Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is used the distressed animals as leverage to force Fick to go out to the farm and submit to pressure to hand over the pig pens in dispute.
TAKE ACTION
Call or sms the Deputy Governer of the Reserve Bank, Mr Mashwiringwani, on +263 (0)11 800582 and tell him that the world is watching and shocked by his unlawful actions.
Request that he gives the farmer access to the animals to prevent them from dying.
Advise him that you are contacting your governments in your countries and will be doing all you can to call attention to this shameful state of affairs. Then please do just that.
Please be calm, polite and factual when calling.
UPDATED – Please can you also call or sms Mashwiringwani’s ‘farm manager’:
Shepherd Makoni
Manager for Mr Mashiringwani
Cell: +263 (0)912 967 386
September 13th, 2009 12:56
Hi Sok
I’ve forwarded this news article through to the E.tv news room in SA, so hopefully they can generate some well-needed exposure to this rather distressing situation.
Kathy
September 14th, 2009 05:13
Mugabe evidently found nothing wrong with recently refering to the visiting EU delegation as “bloody whites”.
Can you imaging the furore if the EU had refered to Mugabe and his henchmen as “bloody blacks”?
The only racists in the current Zimbabwe saga are Mugabe and his thugs.
September 14th, 2009 19:17
At Last!!!
News24 has finally picked up this story:
http://www.news24.com/Content/SouthAfrica/News/1059/2b765ea5246644bcb20a3c3457749d94/14-09-2009-09-33/SA_family_chased_off_Zim_farm
Hopefully the other media also pick this up and create some exposure.
Kathy
October 4th, 2009 21:45
It’s encouraging to see that the international media is finally making some progress in Zim. The Sunday Evening programme, Carte Blanche (SA) covered the Zim farm debacle on TV this evening. They were actually allowed to interview Tendai Biti, Louis Fick, and Deon Theron, and presented a pretty accurate description of the current situation…no sneaking, and no hidden cameras…
A special Thank You needs to be expressed to Sokwanele and other activists who have fought steadfastly over these past few years to ensure that the outside world actually gets to hear about the atrocities taking place.
October 22nd, 2009 16:15
You who are so cruel to humans who are living and working on the farms which you have overrun illegally even extend your atrocities to the animals when people are trying to feed and water them. What is this.
Oh! God in your mercy put right and rid the land of the evil that prevails.
October 22nd, 2009 16:24
@A Humanist –
It is wonderful how brave the people in Zimbabwe are, who are standing up for their rights.
At last, at last, the international community is beginning to speak up more in defense of the persecuted people in Zimbabwe and get the news out so more people hear about the truth of what is happening in that land. May God bless you. May God save the suffering masses.
How I wish this terror and destruction would stop and ordinary Zimbabweans can get on with their lives in peace.
October 22nd, 2009 16:26
@kathy –
Yes indeed