By Basildon Peta
Compensation Farm, Zimbabwe - Farm labourer Jukumani Sibanda, 61, says he saw them come in a convoy of about 12 vehicles on a chilly dawn on Tuesday.
"They surrounded the farmhouse and the next thing I heard was the sound of gunfire," said the sobbing Sibanda last night as he recounted how his employer of 10 years, Martin Olds, was slain in a gunbattle with about 40 farm invaders.
Olds fought for his life, first sending out a radio SOS message, and then shooting back at the invaders, who were armed with AK-47s.
"He was a good man who did not deserve to die like this. What is wrong with these war veterans?" asked Sibanda, looking at the body of his boss, lying outside his burnt-out house.
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Olds, 46, suffered gunshots wounds in both legs and the forehead. Police officers who collected his body said the war veterans had savaged the bullet-riddled corpse with iron bars and hatchets.
He became the second white farmer to be killed in four days by veterans who have illegally occupied more than 1 000 white-owned farms since February.
Other victims of the violence include opposition party members Tichaona Chiminya and Talent Mbika, who died in a petrol-bomb attack on their car in Harare last week.
On Olds' Compensation Farm yesterday, visibly shaken white farmers gathered as news of the killing spread in the area. Spent cartridges and petrol bombs made from beer bottles lay strewn around the farmhouse.
"I personally saw about 10 AK rifles at the back of some of the trucks that brought the war veterans," farmers' union official Mac Crawford said.
"What is disturbing us is that he died a few kilometres from Nyamandhlovu police station. In fact, the police had been informed that the war veterans were targeting Olds. How could the war vets pass through a police roadblock carrying rifles?" Crawford wondered.
Olds' farm is situated about 17km from the police station.
Two veterans sustained gunshot wounds and were treated at the local hospital.
The farmers' union accused the government of issuing arms to the veterans.
The war veterans' leader, Chenjerai Hunzvi, has stated publicly that one way for President Mugabe to retain power is to arm the war veterans to fight for him. - The Star Foreign Service
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