Story so far ...
'land grab' creating unintended ripples. Zimbabwean born British doctor forcibly acquires the farm and homestead of white tobacco growers. Zimbabwe's first family has has fingered for complicity in the scheme ...the Mugabes deny knowing doctor's family
Black British doctor, Nyatsuro, seized white family's farm in Zimbabwe
How is the program working out ?
Black British doctor, Nyatsuro, seized white family's farm in Zimbabwe
Robert
Mugabe's policy of 'land reform' has been running for 16 years, with 90
per cent of white farmers in Zimbabwe seeing their land taken and given
to black people instead.
The
government insists it is necessary to reduce the whites' economic
dominance which dates back to the colonial era - but opponents claim it
is a tyrannical and unfair process which bears little relation to
justice. Mugabe said that the British took the land in the 1890’s and
Zimbabweans are claiming it back. Most of the land is then given to pro
Zanu PF supporters.How is the program working out ?
Evidence: This
picture shows Grace Mugabe, wife of the Zimbabwean dictator Robert
Mugabe, posing with British doctor Sylvester Nyatsuro and his wife,
Veronica, who seized a farm from a white couple
These photographs however, suggest at least, that Zimbabwe-born British doctor, Nyatsuros, can now be linked to the ruling Mugabe family for the first time.
These photographs however, suggest at least, that Zimbabwe-born British doctor, Nyatsuros, can now be linked to the ruling Mugabe family for the first time.
The photographs showing the couple posing with first lady Grace Mugabe have led pro-democracy campaigners to accuse the first family of corruption.
'These
pictures show the tentacles of Mugabe's cronyism reaching all the way
to Nottingham,' Rose Benton, from UK-based campaign group Zimbabwe
Vigil, told MailOnline. 'It's astonishing that such corruption can be allowed to continue.'
It is unclear where and when the pictures were taken.These
extraordinary photographs show that a wealthy British doctor who controversially seized
a white family’s 2,000-acre farm in Zimbabwe knows tyrant Robert
Mugabe's wife.
Sylvester
Nyatsuro, 45, took over a tobacco plantation belonging to Phillip and
Anita Rankin, who were frog-marched off their land by AK47-wielding
thugs.
The
Rankins, who bought the land 35 years ago, were handcuffed and taken
away in police lorries on the orders of Nottingham-based Dr Nyatsuro and
his wife Veronica, 45.
Land-grab: Wealthy doctor Sylvester Nyatsuro and his wife Veronica run a weight-loss clinic in Nottingham
Dispossessed: Phillip Rankin and his wife Anita are now staying with a relative 15 miles away from Harare
Seized: The Rankins were forced off the farm by armed thugs who padlocked the gates behind them
It is unclear where and when the pictures were taken.
The
couple run a weight-loss clinic in Nottingham, where they live with
their three children in a gated, five-bedroom home which they bought for
£730,000 in 2006.
They also own a number of rental properties. Dr Nyatsuro drives a Mercedes sports car.
The
couple refused to respond to MailOnline's requests for comment. But
they told the Zimbabwean press that the Mugabe family had played no role
in the land seizure.
The
Rankins were forced out of the tobacco plantation last month, amid
chaotic scenes in which armed thugs took control of the farm. Their
worldly possessions were driven away in police lorries.
They
had tended the land for over three decades since purchasing it from
another farmer, and the flourishing business they built up is now
understood to be worth up to £1.7million.
Connected: Sylvester and Veronica Nyatsuro are seen posing with Grace Mugabe in an undisclosed location
Links: Grace Mugabe and Veronica Nyatsuro are seen smiling for the camera with a group of children
Asset: The Nyatsuros live in a five-bedroom home in Nottingham which they bought for £730,000 in 2006
Silent: Dr Nyatsuro refused to respond to MailOnline's attempts to contact him at his home in Nottingham
Practice: Dr Nyatsuro and his wife run The Willows Medical Centre in Nottingham, a health and slimming clinic
Dictator: Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe, 92, and his wife Grace, celebrating his birthday last week
A
glimmer of hope for the dispossessed family came on Wednesday, when
Zimbabwe's High Court issued an order granting them the right to enter
the farm while a full enquiry was launched.
But
today the Rankins were too scared to approach the property, as at least
20 armed men – including one who claims to be Mrs Nyatsuro's brother
– remained in their family home.
Witnesses say the thugs show 'no sign of leaving' the farm, which is located about 140 miles north east of the capital Harare.
Labourers
are desperately harvesting and curing the valuable tobacco crop before
it spoils, under direction from Mr Rankin via mobile phone.
The eviction of the Rankins was caught on camera by a neighbour, using his mobile phone.
In
the pictures, a squad of about 20 armed men can be seen seizing the
property and hauling Phillip Rankin, 57, and his family away in
handcuffs while the gates are padlocked behind them.
Some
of the Rankins’ furniture and personal effects are seen being thrown
into the back of a police lorry, which is driven away by armed men while
Mr Rankin looks on in disbelief.
Guarded: A man carrying a gun patrols the farm in Zimbabwe after the Rankins were forced off the land
Dumped: The Rankins' belongings were piled onto a police vehicle and driven away as part of the eviction
Threatening: Armed thugs and police
moved in on the 2,000 acre property, worth up to £1.5million, on behalf
of a wealthy British GP who lives 7,500 miles away in Nottingham
Bewildered: Labourers look on as the farm is taken over by police officers and thugs armed with guns
Many
Zimbabwean activists are questioning why the Rankins’ farm should be
given to a British doctor who has made his home on another continent and
is already wealthy in his own right.
Dr Nyatsuro has faced protests at his clinic in Nottingham, with more scheduled over the coming weeks.
The
Rankin family have been left destitute. Anita Rankin, who farmed the
tobacco fields with her husband for more than three decades, wept as she
described the trauma of losing everything they own.
She
told MailOnline: 'They would come to the kitchen door and stare at us
and they made so much noise. It was a very tough situation and it went
on and on.
'We
don't know where we will live or what we will do. I am born and bred on
a farm. I don't know town life. And I only know Zimbabwe.’
The
Rankins are now staying with their son Barry in Harare as they
contemplate how to claim back the tobacco crop they planted and move on
with their lives.
Happier times: The couple say that police have taken over their home and stopped them working on the farm
Farmers: The Rankins say they know nothing but farming after working the land on their property for 35 years
Desperate: A handful of workers is trying to salvage the Rankins' expensive crop in the couple's absence
Tobacco: Mr Rankin invested £300,000 in his current tobacco crop and fears he may now lose everything
Location: The farm at the centre of the controversy is about 140 miles north of Zimbabwe's capital, Harare
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