Zimbabwe: MP Seizes Dairy

Zimbabwe Independent (Harare)
May 5, 2006
Augustine Mukaro

ZANU PF MP for Mudzi West, Joseph Christopher Musa, has invaded the lucrative Danish-operated Zengea Farm housing Red Dane Dairy on the outskirts of Harare in defiance of President Robert Mugabe's undertaking to uphold Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (Bippas).

A visit to the farm by the Zimbabwe Independent on Wednesday revealed that the MP's invading gangsters were still camped at the farm and had occupied the butchery manager's house, and taken over the butchery and store.

Farm owners, the Kirk family, told the Independent that Musa arrived at Zengea Farm last week equipped with an offer letter dated February 13, signed by Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement minister Didymus Mutasa.

Mass Kirk said the Mudzi MP left four of his invaders squatting outside Zengea butchery.

"On April 26, the group became violent and disruptive, harassing customers and staff at the butchery."

That afternoon the situation deteriorated forcing the butchery manager to flee giving the invaders an opportunity to snatch both the butchery and store keys from farm employees.

Kirk said he informed an Inspector Ndaba in charge of Beatrice police about the situation at the farm. He said the officer promised to act after consulting with a superior officer.

"At about 5pm, Musa's men were still tormenting our employees at the butchery," he said. "I stopped my vehicle by the group and dispersed my workers to their homes. However, this infuriated Musa's gangsters who charged threateningly towards me, forcing me back into my vehicle to make a hasty retreat," he said.

Kirk said he waited in his car at a distance until 6pm when Musa arrived at the scene but before he could speak to him, his men had surrounded his car, banging and kicking it forcing him to flee.

"The farm manager Pieter De Klerk brought in four heavily armed police details from Beatrice police station. As they arrived at the butchery they found Musa's men assaulting one of our security guards having taken his two-way radio and handcuffs.

"The police attempted to arrest the men and get them into the vehicle but the men retaliated by pushing the officers away," Kirk said. "It was only when Inspector Goromonzi cocked his pistol to one man's head that the situation came under control.

"This calm did not last long as Musa later returned and his men jumped off the vehicle, taking control of the situation again."

After leaving the first marauding group the MP went back to Beatrice and secured the release of the other group who immediately returned to harass the farm workers.

Senior government and central bank officials including central bank governor Gideon Gono, retired army general Solomon Mujuru, and officials from the Foreign Affairs and Lands ministries have in the past visited the farm. They encouraged the Kirk family to continue with production and commended their positive thinking and involvement in improving farming at the local and national levels.

"With a proven track record of commitment to the country and co-operation with the government in power, we are confused by the scenario we find ourselves in," Kirk said.

Red Dane Dairy is a farming company with a majority Danish shareholding protected from acquisition under the Bippa agreement between the government of Zimbabwe and Denmark signed in 1996.

Justice Paddington Garwe granted a court order on January 6 this year stating that the property was subject to continued protection against summary expropriation or nationalisation on the strength of this agreement. Another High Court order confirming that the property falls under a bilateral agreement and cannot be acquired was issued on February 9.

Besides being protected under the agreement, Red Dane was allowed to continue operating because the farm is highly productive in dairy, beef, pigs and tobacco and includes a large milk-processing factory, Kefalos Cheese.

The farm is the founding home of the renowned Red Dane cattle breed, introduced to Zimbabwe by Wolle Kirk. The breed has been very successful in large-scale and small-scale commercial farms. The factory processes about 20,000 kg of milk every day, half of which is produced on the farm.

Over 1 500 head of cattle are reared for slaughter, milking and breeding each year. This season an estimated 200 000 kg of Virginia tobacco was produced.

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