How 22 farmers ended up in prison – what happened…

Original Post Date: 2001-08-20  Posted By: Jan

From the News Archives of: WWW.AfricanCrisis.Org
Date & Time Posted: 8/20/2001 8:38:24 PM
How 22 farmers ended up in prison – what happened…

Read it and weep

Trev

To all who care to know the truth about the crisis in Zimbabwe

Mark Shaw(96)`s report concerning the imprisonment of 22 farmers in Chinhoyi:

On Monday 6th August a large number of farmers from the
Banket/Chinhoyi/Karoi areas were gathered
in Chinhoyi for a report back from our Regional chairman, Mr Jan Botes,
concerning the recently ended
Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) annual congress which had been held in Harare
the previous Wednesday and Thursday. The meeting started at 0930 hrs and
went on until after midday.

At around 1000hrs, Mr Boet Pretorius received a telephone message to the
effect that his neighbour, Mr Tony Barklay, had been attacked at his home by
a group of 40(43)+ settlers who were armed with axes,
fence poles and rocks. Boet called me out of the meeting and gave me this
report. I immediately phoned the Officer in charge of Chinhoyi Rural Police
station, Inspector MUDZIWAPASI, who is well known to most of us due to our
involvement in neighbourhood watch duties with the Police. I spoke to him on
his direct line and gave him a summary of the report we had received. I
asked for Police attendance to this scene as a matter of urgency emphasising
that this was not a conflict over land
but an attack on a farmer in his residence. He seemed most uninterested and
eventually told me he had no transport. I replied that he could easily
borrow another vehicle from another Police section or
use one of my vehicles. His reply was that he would pass the message to
Shackleton Police Post
and they would send a cyclist to the scene. I reminded him that Shackleton
was over twenty kilometres from the farm in question and therefore he was
telling us that Police could not reach the scene for at least two hours. He
said that was his decision and rang off.

I turned to the farmers around me and informed me of this decision. We all
knew what this meant. We now had no option but to help Tony Barkley
ourselves. About six farmers left the meeting at this time and proceeded to
Tony Barkley(96)`s farm. I continued to phone other Police officers in an effort
to get help.
The record of calls made, as provided by the cell-phone service provider,
will show that I phoned the Officer Commanding Police, Mashonaland West
Province, (no answer) the Deputy Officer Commanding Police, Mashonaland West
Province, Assistant Commissioner PRITCHARDT, who told me he was in Bulawayo
and therefore unable to help, the Officer Commanding Makonde District (said
to be out of his office) and finally the Deputy Officer Commanding Makonde
District, Woman Superintendent CHEPATO
who turned out to be the only senior Police officer available. I passed the
report to her and told her that in view of Inspector MUDZIWAPASI(96)`s refusal
to attend this scene timeously, the neighbouring farmers were responding to
assist Mr Barkley whose life we believed was in jeopardy. She promised to
get the Support Unit to attend. Note that at this time we still believed Mrs
Yvonne Barkley was in the home and therefore equally in danger- only later
did we hear she had gone to Harare that morning before the attack commenced.

The Support Unit did not arrive for the next approximately two hours forcing
the farmers on the ground to make decisions in the belief that help would
not be forthcoming. A report on the radio back to those of us who were still
in Chinhoyi said that Mr Barkley was no longer responding to his radio and
it was feared he had been overpowered in his home and was now injured or
worse. The worst was feared for Mrs Barkley as well. A decision was made to
try and negotiate with the settlers to allow two farmers to enter the house
and check the Barkleys well-being. Two farmers approached the group of
settlers (now estimated at over 50) The farmers were immediately attacked
with bricks, rocks, catterpaults and branches, both suffering moderate
injuries before escaping. The number of farmers in attendance had now risen
to about 12 or 14. A decision was made to try and enter the house. A
confrontation followed by a violent clash followed leaving approximately 5
persons injured on either side but leaving the farmers in control of the
house. Thankfully Mr Barkley was found unharmed- he had not been able to
respond to the radio calls as he had been holding his front door against the
attempted break-in by the settler groups. The farmers immediately contacted
us (the group who had remained in Chinhoyi ) and
advised us that Tony was safe. The settlers reinforced until they numbered
around 70 had regrouped and were threatening the farmers again. I continued
to phone Woman Superintendent CHEPATO as Support Unit had still not arrived
at the scene. I then left the Chinhoyi Country Club where we had been and I
proceeded to the Police station where I went to see Inspector MUDZIWAPASI
-the Officer in charge. I gave him an update on events on the farm and told
him that several casualties had been suffered. He seemed surprised and said
that perhaps he better go and attend the scene. We talked for a while and
then I left.

Sometime between 12 and 1300hrs the Support Unit were reported to have
arrived. The report I received was that they picked up all, or most, of the
settlers in their armoured carrier and asked the farmers to follow to the
Police station to give statements as to what had happened. By this time the
Chinhoyi
Farmers Association leadership, who had all been in Chinhoyi attending the
meeting, arrived on Liston Shields farm. Amongst them was Fred Wallis, the
chairman, and Duncan Moyes, the ex chairman.
They all agreed to follow and give statements. Most arrived at the Police
station around 3pm and were later detained. In the uncertainty surrounding
events, they were followed to the Police station by interested friends and
relatives including Mr Louis Fick, who was checking on his brother in law
and was immediately arrested. In the early evening Mr Jim Steele, 72, went
to the station with blankets for his son. He was also arrested. Neither of
these two had been involved in this incident in any way.
None of those arrested were informed of the reasons for their arrest and
none were permitted to communicate with lawyers or family. Neither were they
fed for the first 24 hours of their detention.

At 0730 hours the following morning I arrived at the Police station and went
to see Inspector Mudziwapasi. I asked him what was happening and whether I
could see the detained persons.
He told me that he was now taking the farmers as accused persons as the
information provided to him showed they had caused the conflict. I asked him
how that conclusion fitted with our repeated requests for Police assistance
and the threats to a farmer(96)`s life and property. He said he was very busy.
I remained at the Police station for the next hour, in full view of the
settlers, making a few phone calls to advise other concerned people what was
happening. Some time after 0800 a Double-cab vehicle marked ZANU-PF had
entered the station, disgorged four persons who began to stir up the
settlers
and other zanu youth who had gathered at the station. I was pulled out of my
car by a person I have now been informed is a zanu councellor named
his accomplices gathered around me in a threatening manner and told me to go
back to the office of the Police station (I was parked in the grounds) Once
inside the station these persons accused me of being involved in the
incident which had occurred the previous day. I told them I had not been on
the farm at any time and that Inspector Mudziwapasi could confirm this. We
went into Inspector Mudziwapasi(96)`s office and he did confirm that I had been
with him. The zanu official insisted that I be detained. He now claimed that
a baton stick had been used by one of the farmers and because all my guards
carried baton sticks (standard issue for every security guard in Zimbabwe)
therefore I had obviously supplied the baton. Baton sticks are readily
available in most hardware stores in Zimbabwe. I said to Inspector
Mudziwapasi (96)`It(96)`s your call, you know I could not have been involved, but do
you have the courage stand up for the truth?(96)` His reply was to hold up his
hands in a sign of resignation/surrender and he told me to go and sit in the
charge office.
Although I was not advised I was under arrest I was no longer free to go.
Within a few minutes I was taken to the mother Police station (Chinhoyi
Urban) where I was informed I was to be detained. When I asked on what
charge the detail at the counter turned back the page in his Detention book
and read out
the allegation written against the name of some of those detained the
previous day..Public Violence. I was told to remove my outer clothing,
including shoes and socks and then locked in a cell. I was also not
permitted a call to anyone. I asked to be allowed to retain a jersey/coat
because of the cold and was told I could keep my shirt or my jersey but not
both. All the other prisoners I found had been similarly treated. In my cell
I found 7 other inmates, six of them farmers. (One of them, Hamish
Barkley,was arrested at the same time as myself when he arrived to visit his
father.) The eight of us shared only three blankets, besides three dirty
pieces of old blanket being used to cover the floor on which we sat. There
are no chairs, beds or windows and the toilet is an open hole in the floor
which has no flush mechanism or paper.

My cell mates had been in custody for 16 hours and had not been fed or
allowed to receive the food brought to them by visitors. They had also been
refused use of the blankets brought to them by relatives. I was informed
that the farmers had been divided into three groups and sent to different
Police stations around the district, namely Banket and Zvimba. Later I heard
the Police at Banket had allowed the prisoners detained there to receive
food. All the prisoners reported extreme cold conditions and a lack of
blankets and deprivation of their warm clothing.

At about 1000hrs we were removed from the cell and handed over to CID
officers who began to conduct
an identification parade using the settlers as witnesses. Of the total of 22
of us only seven were identified. Amongst those seven were Jim Steel, Hamish
Barkley and others who had never been on the farm during the whole day in
question. Also identified was Tony Barkley who had never got out of his
house. Clearly the settlers were confused or merely identifying farmers
known to them (most of those identified live in the Alaska area close to
Liston Shields farm)

The parade continued until around 1600 hrs when we were offered a communal
bowl of sadza and a small plate of about 150 grams of kapenta (to share
between 22). Most prisoners had now been without food for 34 hours (24 of
those in Police custody) The Police now told us they wished to take us to
Liston Shield for further identification by other settlers. We agreed to
forego lunch to expedite this and were loaded into three vehicles. Half way
to the farm the plan was changed and we returned to the Police station. Upon
our return we were allowed to consult with lawyers who had arrived during
the id parade and the Police began to record individual warned and cautioned
statements and fingerprints from all of us. At around 1800 hours food was
brought to the station by family and friends and we were allowed to eat. The
recording of statements went on until around 1930 hours. During this time
the CID arrested two relatives who had tried to provide us with warm
clothing and blankets. (Incidentally, in the
presence of the lawyers I had complained about the lack of blankets and the
officer in charge CID had agreed we should be supplied with more- this was
not adhered to) No prisoners up to that time, to my knowledge, had been
beaten or physically mistreated. However zanu officials from time to time
would approach us and taunt us or lecture us. A few Police officers, not
those directly involved in the investigation, also chose to insult and taunt
the prisoners and give us a bit of a political education.

At around 2000hrs those of us who had been held at Chinhoyi Police station
were taken away from the CID block and returned to the cell. As we entered
the cell I was called and told to return to the CID office. Some time later
I was told I would be released. When I asked why it was suggested to me that
I had been detained for my own safety. I did not push the issue and left the
Police station sometime around 2100hrs.

The following morning I went to work a bit later than usual but was informed
by some of my staff
that zanu youth were looking for me as they were not happy with the Police
decision to release me.
I decided to take my family away from Chinhoyi that evening.

We have been warned to remove all valuable things from our home as it is
likely to be trashed etc, I pray it will not…

to be continued……..

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