Violations Against Farmers War veterans and ZANU-PF militia occupying commercial farms intimidated, assaulted and in some cases, killed white farm owners. These assaults and killings were widely reported. The implementation of the fast track land reform programme resulted in lawlessness and the breakdown of the rule of law in that the perpetrators were not prosecuted and the victims were denied protection of the law as required by the Constitution of Zimbabwe.28 According to human rights groups and the CFU, at least seven farmers were killed in political violence since the beginning of 2000.29 The victims were mainly white commercial farmers and perceived MDC supporters. Police and the army, for example, occupied the farm of Roy Bennett the Deputy Minister of Agriculture elect. Farm owners continue to be assaulted and threatened and their farms occupied whether or not they have actually been listed for acquisition by the government. The murders of two farmers killed in April 2000 were the first cases to be recorded. David Stevens was shot dead on his Macheke farm. A few days later, more than one hundred ZANU-PF militia, led by war veterans, invaded the farm of Martin Olds, in Nyamandlovu, near Bulawayo. According to a spokesperson for ZANU-PF, Olds opened fire, hitting five of the invaders with shotgun pellets, who then fired back and killed him. Cases where white farmers assaulted settlers were also reported. In Odzi a commercial farmer Bezuidenhourt ran over one Mapenzauswa, a settler and killed him.30 The farmer was arrested for murder but the case has not yet been brought before the court. Evidence of state complicity in violation of rights of individual farmers and their property is high. According to GAPWUZ the highest perpetrators of violations are War Veterans, the Youth Militia, ZANU PF members, traditional leaders and uniformed police.31 The list of perpetrators also includes the military police, riot squad, Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA), farm workers, District Administrators, Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Police Intelligence Services Inspectorate (PISI), President's Office, Governors, Provincial Administrators, and National Parks officials. Violations Against Farm Workers In June 2000, the National Employment Council (NEC) for the Agricultural Industry (a tripartite body of government, employers, and unions) published a report noting that, as a result of the farm occupations, at least 3,000 farm workers were displaced from their homes, twenty-six killed, 1,600 assaulted, and eleven raped. The majority (47.2%) were supporters of the MDC; nearly as many as (43.6%) had no political affiliation; a few 32 (4.7%) were ZANU PF supporters. In 2009, the CFU reported that more than 250 000 farm workers lost their means of livelihoods because of the violent land reform programme,33 while JAG points out that, in actual fact, 1.3 million farm workers and their families were affected in the eight years of violence.34 This has been corroborated by many researches carried out on the land reform programme.35 The farm occupiers waged a violent campaign against the commercial farmers and the farm workers to drive them off the land assaulting and killing many. Like their employers, the farm workers fell victim to war veterans, youth militia, ZANU (PF) members, traditional leaders and uniformed police who viewed them as belonging to the same constituency as the farmer. They were held hostage, their children witnessed the beatings, were forced to intimidate others, to attend political meetings and to join ZANU- PF. 36There were also reports of farm workers waging violent campaigns against the farm occupiers.37 28 S18 thereof; see CFU v Minister of Lands and others SC-132-2000 CFU, 2009 Report 30 The Zimbabwe Daily News July 20, 2001, 31 GAPUZ 'If something is wrong…the invisible suffering of commercial farm workers and their families due to “Land Reform”. Report produced for General Agricultural and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe by the Research and Advocacy Unit and Justice for Agriculture Trust (JAG) located at ttp://www.kubatana.net/docs/agric/gapwuz_suffering_farm_workers_091111.pdf 32 Human Rights Watch, 2002. 33 CFU, 2009 Report. 34 Justice for Agriculture (JAG) and the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ)? Reckless Tragedy: Irreversible? A survey of human rights violations and 35 GAPWUZ at http://www.kubatana.net/html/archive/arch_start.asp 36 GAPWUZ 'If Something is wrong… The invisible suffering of commercial farm workers and their families due to “Land Reform”, Report produced for General Agricultural and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe by the Research and Advocacy Unit and Justice forAgriculture Trust (JAG) 37 For instance, The Herald, 15 September 2001, reported that farm workers at Bita Farm in Hwedza allegedly attacked resettled farmers and ZANU (PF) supporters, Fanuel Madzvimba and Alexio Nyamadzawo. Both men were assaulted and subsequently killed with axes, steel chains, spears, asterisks, knobkerries and stones. Resettled farmers and war veteran militants burnt the 60 huts of unnamed farm workers. The arson attack was in retaliation to the killing of two resettled farmers by farm workers. 29 10