Roberte Mugabe supporters grab one of Zimbabwe's last white-run farmsZimbabwe used to be the breadbasket of Africa -- a food exporter. Mugabe is a Marxist thug and needs to be removed from office. Posted by DaveH at November 2, 2008 12:29 PM
A leading Zimbabwean farmer working some of the country's last productive land has had his property invaded by allies of Robert Mugabe.
Doug Taylor-Freeme is one of Africa's most respected farmers, a white Zimbabwean chosen by his mostly black peers to be their champion.
Elected unanimously as president of Zimbabwe's Commercial Farmers Union, Mr Taylor-Freeme has represented the interests of hundreds of thousands of Southern African farmers on international agricultural organisations and he addressed the European Parliament last summer.
But he faced his greatest challenge yet when his property at Romsey, one of Zimbabwe's last productive farms, was invaded by allies of President Mugabe last week despite half the country teetering on the brink of starvation.
Romsey has the only productive fields for miles around in the once-fertile Makonde South district, 90 miles north of Harare. Now it is under threat from a local strongman, Chief Nemakonde, a strong supporter of Mr Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party, whose land grab is being supported by local government officials. He has already taken over five formerly white-owned farms in the district, all of which are derelict after his efforts at planting failed.
Mr Taylor-Freeme, 43, tried to continue his work after the demands started. But on Thursday evening, when he was planting a new crop of maize for the summer season, police arrived at the farm to enforce the wishes of Chief Nemakonde that all work be stopped. With five million people in Zimbabwe currently in need of United Nations food aid, even one of the police force admitted to The Sunday Telegraph that he felt the effort was "mad".
Before he forced his way on to Mr Taylor-Freeme's land last week, Chief Nemakonde, who is in his late 60s and has several wives and scores of children, sent men to torch a field of winter wheat stalks. meaning there will be no hay for cattle.
Remember it was the British Goverment of Miss Thacher that put Mugarde in power.
Posted by: Allan at December 1, 2009 10:19 PM