A Report on Post Election Violence
August 07, 2000

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Petition from CFU to President
Commercial Farmers' Union
July 2000

THE HONOURABLE ROBERT GABRIEL MUGABE

I, the undersigned, TIMOTHY HENWOOD, in my capacity as President of the Commercial Farmers Union, do hereby humbly request His Excellency to intervene in bringing to an end the perils faced by all those involved in commercial farming in Zimbabwe as a result of the resurgence of land invasions by war veterans and others which are in imminent danger of causing a major conflagration throughout the farming areas of the country.

I annexe hereto a copy of an Urgent Chamber Application that has been filed with the High Court in which the Union has felt constrained to include His Excellency, in his official capacity, as a Respondent to the to the proceedings. This has been done to enable His Excellency to meet averments made in the Application and to deal with further averments which may be made by the other Respondents in replying to the Application.

Copies of this Urgent Chamber Application have already been served upon all the Respondents and the Civil Division of the Attorney General's Office.

I have, however, instructed our legal practitioners not to proceed with securing a hearing of the Application at this point. The Certificate of Service of the Application upon the Respondents is therefore being withheld.

The attention of His Excellency is drawn to the closing provisions of Paragraph 9.10 of the affidavit of the Union's Director, Mr D W Hasluck, upon which the High Court Application is founded. In particular attention is drawn to the top of Page 12 in which it is stated that:- " The Union looks to His Excellency the President to play a positive and constructive role in this regard - [i.e. stopping the violence and lawlessness that presently prevails] - and to do so even before this matter has to go to Court."

The Union and its members really do face enormous dangers both to the individuals who make up the farming community and to their general productivity. The Chairman of the War Veterans Association has, with respect, acted in a most unfortunate manner by promoting a resurgence of the farm invasions and by doing so in a manner which is calculated so to aggravate tensions In this regard attention is drawn in particular to the Reuters report of a statement made by Dr. Hunzvi on 15 July 2000. A copy of that report appears as Page (3b) in the accompanying papers where it is annexed to the Certificate of Urgency. Steps are also being taken to obtain a copy of a televised recording of Dr. Hunzvi's statement on that occasion. This recording was made at Dr. Hunzvi's own behest.

The Council of the Union and I as its President are under great pressure to take positive and effective steps to redress the fast deteriorating security situation that presently prevails on the farms. The Union cannot allow matters to deteriorate further. The Union nevertheless believes that it is in the interests of Zimbabwe as a whole that the situation be addressed and be addressed effectively by His Excellency the President and that it be seen to be addressed by His Excellency. The Chamber Application and attendant publicity can only harm the image of Zimbabwe if the Courts find themselves obliged to make further rulings against the Commissioner of Police and to comment on His Excellency's participation in the land invasions to date.

The urgency of this Petition is occasioned by the fact reports are being received that the situation in parts of the Beatrice area as of this morning has deteriorated to one of open conflict and the situation reported from Karoi is so explosive as to be likely to follow suit within hours. The consequences of such lawlessness must impact not only upon the productivity of the farming industry but also on the ability of our farmers to market their produce and to secure foreign currency for the country. The downstream effect on commerce and industry and the lack of employment for thousands of people can only make matters worse.

The Union is already beseiged with numerous media enquiries as to what is being done about the situation and our members must be protected. I am accordingly already having to advise the media that this Petition is being made and that we may yet have to proceed with the Chamber Application to the High Court.

The Union thus respectfully petitions His Excellency to consider these papers immediately and to accept a delegation from the Union to reinforce the urgency of this request. The Union most earnestly prays that His Excellency will react immediately and anxiously awaits a response.

DATED AT HARARE THIS             DAY OF JULY 2000.
TIMOTHY HENWOOD
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