Update on Karori farm - Charles Lock

Last Wednesday Mujaji, the commissioner General, and the Army Commander gave their undertakings to the Judge President to honour the High Court Order. The execution of the order cannot be appealed against and clearly specifies that crops and equipment belong to Charles Lock. Instead Mujaji and his soldiers have looted 15 tons of baled tobacco marked with our growers' number v114564. He has stolen 22 tons of fertiliser and 48 tons of maize and refuses to release any equipment. There is photographic evidence and taped recordings. He has broken the law in so many ways and abused the integrity of the Judge President who clearly avoided the contempt order to give him time to comply. His soldiers who have beaten, raped people and looted at will are back on the farm and Sgt Makoni, the leader of the soldiers, even has a new vehicle from our sweat.

The Police have lost all respect in the area. They were even too scared to investigate the fertiliser theft until I took the matter in my own hands and forced them to go there and see. Even they refused to go see the fertilizer room and lock it as it had clearly been broken open. They are even scared to provide report numbers even though we got assurances from Senior Ass Com Mutamba that Headlands would deal with it. WE have pictures of the maize before and after the looting and have even followed a lorry coming off the farm which went to Discovery Foods in Ruwa. The driver confirmed on tape it came from the farm and still Mujaji lies and the Police will not investigate. It is clear there is a military coup.
The messenger of the court and the police will not enforce the court order. They merely ask permission from the soldiers and comply with whatever they say. The messenger and police refused to go to the fertiliser shed or the tobacco shed. In Headlands and Rusape our fertiliser and maize is currently being sold on the open market and we have reported all of this yet it still continues.

All we can do is pray that the Judge President will deal with this issue and up hold the integrity of the legal process.

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2. Further Update Karori Farm - Charles Lock

For two weeks Mujaji has ignored the High Court Order from Judge Patel and instead evicted our staff

Since then we went back to the High Court in front of the Judge President this time seeking a contempt order against Mujaji and co and the Commander of the army and the commissioner general. When it became apparent that the respondents had no case Mujaji said he had no problem with complying with the order and that it was because he had not been aware of it. A lie as his wife was in the court room when it was issued.
However, the Judge President then said that if there is no conflict then the order must be affected and within two weeks we should report back to her.

On arriving at the farm with the Police and messenger, who both seem to think the soldiers are above the law as they do not attempt to enforce the order merely asking the soldiers for permission, we were told quite clearly that we could only take the tobacco and maize and my personal things. No equipment and no fertilizer or stock. Uniformed soldiers with AK's were put at the gate. I was not allowed in my house or to walk around the yard and we were not allowed to go into any store room to check things. Only one lorry at a time was allowed to be loaded and the soldiers delayed this procedure so much that each day we have sent back empty lorries.

I managed to sneak around the yard and photographed my fertilizer room which had been broken open and about 20 tons stolen. Bags were littered outside in the bush and the tracks inside the yard had been brushed to cover wheel marks. The soldiers and the police refused to allow us to go to the shed formally and check it and close it. In the evening I walked around the perimeter and found 15 bags of fertilizer hidden. The soldiers tried to prevent me fetching these bags and the police did not want to act again, until I threatened them with exposure. They then accompanied me and we fetched the bags and took them to the police station. Mrs Mujaji arrived on the farm and told the police that our own workers were stealing the fertilizer. They had been evicted at gun point two weeks ago.

WE also discovered 800 bags of maize looted of which we know Mujaji stole
22 tons and tried to deliver it to Ruwa. The maize is still there and no police have even visited it despite my constant reports. All our equipment has been stolen and some driven off the farm and still the police and messenger will not deal with it. I saw a cell phone message from Mujaji to one of the soldiers which said Lock can take his tobacco and maize only but no equipment. The soldiers said they would use the equipment for 10 years then give it back to me. They abused us and mocked us.

I then tried to get into the tobacco store room but was refused entry, however I managed to get two senior workers in and they reported back that at first sight about 100 bales of tobacco and some slat packs had gone including our tobacco hoist.

While this was happening one of the soldiers, who I cannot name for his own safety, told me that Mujaji told all the farm workers to leave the yard and then he brought in an army lorry and they loaded the tobacco bales. He said Mujaji took two loads of maize and a load of the fertilizer. It is quite apparent that all these things are gone and we have photographic evidence of it. Mujaji is just a plain thief, made worse by the fact that he uses his rank and the state facilities to do it. This has nothing to do with land and we pray that his criminal actions will be treated accordingly otherwise we are living under a military coup. His actions smack in front of the commitment he gave together with the representatives of the Commissioner General and army Commander to abide by the Court's decision in front of the Judge President.