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Chronicle Reporter 

A LOCAL farmer is at the eye of the storm amid allegations of worker abuse, kidnap and disappearance reigning supreme, with villagers calling on authorities to investigate and get to the bottom of the assertions.

The farmer (name withheld), who operates Moyo farm in Umguza has over the past couple of years been accused of gross abuse of his workers with allegations that he is constantly threatening his workers that he will use his influence to tow them to lone.

He is said to be a former police officer and Zanu-PF party member.

Last year villagers had to ask the intervention of the Matabeleland North provincial affairs Minister, Richard Moyo where they claimed that a number of people, they know who worked at the farm had disappeared, with the farmer failing to give satisfactory explanations to the disappearances.

This publication visited the farm last week and was met with a tense atmosphere with farm workers and villagers initially reluctant to recount their stories but eventually opening up, informing this news crew that all was not well at the farm.

“What puzzles the mind is that no one seems to be wanting to act on all these allegations that have been said. I tell you I have worked at this farm for the past three years; I have seen a lot and have further tried to alert the authorities but nothing seems to be done.

“Our boss has a system of beating up workers for small issues such as just waking up late, last year there are two workers who disappeared without a trace after they had had altercations with him, he constantly boasts that he is untouchable as he is an ex officer and member of the ruling party,” said a worker who declined to be named fearing victimization.

It was revealed that in January this year some police officers had come to the farm claiming they wanted to investigate the allegations but they just interviewed the farmer without seeking to interrogate the workers.

“We thought that maybe after the visit from the police officers, he would change but it sees it fueled him even more because just a few months back one farm boy was severely assaulted just for mistakenly burning braai meet.

“It was sad because this boy had also been assaulted before. Right now, the boy has disappeared, we are not sure whether he escaped or he suffered the same fate as the other people who have disappeared at the farm,” said another worker.