No Honour Amongst Thieves
Mugabe's reign of terror

6th November 2005

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe's nephew, Leo Mugabe and his two sons have been sucked into a battle with war veterans in Mashonaland West after they assaulted an ex-combatant in Mhangura who angrily dared their employee to kill him.

Mashonaland West former freedom fighters are enraged by the reluctance of different government departments to deliver justice because of Leo's links to President Mugabe. The war veteran, Fanuel Gumbo, told The Standard in Mhangura that he was beaten up by Leo's sons while their father watched. Gumbo is currently recovering at his plot in Mhangura after authorities at Chinhoyi Hospital discharged him under unclear circumstances.

Ironically, Gumbo was one of those who led campaigns for Leo leading to his election in the March Parliamentary elections.

In a brazen abuse of political power, on 24 October a driver working for Leo drove to Broadlands Farm in Mhangura and started ploughing on Gumbo's plot. Gumbo was allocated the land by the government in 2003.

Gumbo and his wife, Rosemary, told Leo's tractor driver to seek clarification from his employer as the plot did not belong to the President's nephew.

Leo is reported to have summoned Gumbo and another war veteran identified as Dube and ordered them to vacate their plots.

Gumbo said: "We checked with lands officers in Chinhoyi and members of the land audit committee who privately assured us that we were legitimate owners of the farm which was sub-divided into several plots. However, they said they were helpless to do anything about the MP."

The former Zimbabwe Football Association chairman was allocated a plot on the same farm and war veterans who had moved onto the farm much earlier made way for him, allowing him to occupy the plush farmhouse for fear of upsetting the President's nephew.

Gumbo said the tractor driver returned and started ploughing again but this time he was in the company of Leo and his two sons.

"When I told the driver that he was on my land, Leo's two sons grabbed me and started assaulting me. Ndakagwadziwa mwanangu kuti ndirobge nezvanana ini ndirimunhu mukuru akagwa hondo. (It pained me that kids were assaulting me, a veteran of the liberation struggle) said Gumbo, originally from Mberengwa.

He said despite his military training, he was too shocked to be attacked by the President's relatives that he did not fight back. He said he got a thorough beating.

However, while Gumbo was bound by protocol not to lay a hand on members of President Mugabe's family, the same did not apply to his wife, Rosemary, and their five- year-old son, Confius.

As Gumbo lay on the ground being savaged by the Mugabe royals, his wife and little son jumped to his defence and attacked Leo's sons with stones and sticks.

Rosemary said: "They said they did not care if my husband was a war veteran or a civilian. Vakati vanhu vepapurazi vese ishuro dzisina mari sevanhu vekwaMugabe." (They said people at the farm were paupers, not rich like the Mugabes)."

Gumbo said: "After the humiliation, I had nothing to lose so I told them to end my life. The tractor started moving and one of the wheels struck my lower back. After that I don't remember anything."

The President's relatives panicked. The two boys rushed Gumbo to Mhangura Hospital but authorities refused to attend to him in the absence of a police report. Sources in the province say the wheels of justice started moving very slowly as soon as it became known that they were dealing with members of the Mugabe family.

Still in pain and in the absence of a police report, the war veteran was then immediately driven to Chinhoyi hospital, where he was told the X-ray machine had run out of film.

The X-ray would have formed key evidence in court.

Leo's sons were only taken in for questioning after war veterans expressed their displeasure to senior police commanders in Mashonaland West.

Officials at the Chinhoyi magistrates court confirmed to The Standard that Mugabe's two sons, one identified as Tamira and two employees, Leonard Banda and Claudius White, were remanded out of custody on Friday by a Mhangura magistrate on assault charges. They were remanded to 18 November on $100 000 bail each.

Police spokesman, Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena refused to comment.

By Foster Dongozi - Zimbabwe Standard