“Those who do not understand must be beaten until they do understand.”

 

Moven Mahachi, Minister of Defense,

 

They came from the farms. They came from the small-holdings. They came from the towns and villages.   And they came from the cities.   They came in Landrovers, in farm pick-ups, and in cars.   Some came by plane;  others had travelled long distances on foot.   They came to pay tribute to a 72-year-old woman, a loved and respected farmer from the Nyamandlovu area of Matabeleland, who had been shot down in a hail of bullets from AK 47 rifles.   Her name was Gloria Olds.

 

It was a hot summer afternoon and St Andrews Presbyterian Church in Bulawayo’s Hillside suburb was packed to capacity.   Seated in the front pew beside the flower-strewn coffin was Mrs Olds' son, David, with his own young son Ryan, on his knee.  Next to them were his wife Laura, their daughter Mandy, and other members of their family.  

 

Strategically placed at the front of the church, the television cameraman and press photographers had the task of capturing the pain of a family bereaved a second time for audiences around the world.

 

When everyone was seated, the Reverend Paul Andrianatos began the service with a reading:

 

Come unto me all who are weary and I will give you rest …  I am with you always to the very end… neither death nor life… nor danger… nor sword… neither angels nor demons… nor present, nor future… will be able to separate us from the love of God. 

 

“We are saddened to be parted from this love.   And there are many questions at this time.   Let us set aside our fears and open our hearts to Your love.   Let Your spirit speak to ours so that we can be sure that You are alive…”

 

After singing hymn 424, the congregation fell silent.  The Reverend Andrianatos continued:

 

“We are here today to give thanks for the life of Gloria Elizabeth Olds – a mother, grandmother, sister, colleague and friend. Gloria leaves behind her son David, who is married to Laura, and their two children, Mandy and Ryan. Gloria also leaves behind her other grandchildren, Martine and Angus, the children of Kathy and Martin, her son who was murdered less than a year ago.  At the time of her death, Gloria was still grief-stricken over Martin’s death.

 

Gloria’s other child, Elizabeth, died in a motorcar accident in 1978.  After Elizabeth’s funeral, the parents, Alf and Gloria, and the brothers, Martin and David, stood at the door of the chapel consoling others. Gloria’s husband, Alf, died three and a half years ago, from emphysema.   He was at home at the time, so that he and Gloria could be together.

 

In Gloria, we have a loving wife, mother and grandmother.   Gloria also leaves behind three sisters – Shirley, Tessa and Marie.   Gloria was the eldest of the four girls.   Due to the nature of her father’s work, Gloria had the responsibility of taking care of her younger sisters.   Her parents lived in the bush, erecting telephone and electricity lines.

 

Gloria was also a strong person… I believe that she had to be in order to survive.   This strong-willed, no fuss, independent woman was also compassionate.   She was a person who loved and cared for her family and others.   I now quote from a letter written to a Bulawayo newspaper shortly after her son Martin’s death by Sister Janice McLaughlin, an ex-matron at George Silundika School.

 

MARTIN OLDS’ MURDER, TRAGIC END OF NATIONAL HERO

 

“The 20th anniversary of independence has been irreparably marred by the political violence that has claimed the lives of so many innocent people in recent weeks…. Their murders are a crime and a tragedy, and benefit no one.

 

I wish to pay tribute to Martin Olds, the commercial farmer who was murdered at his farm in Nyamandlovu on 18 April.   He was a neighbour of George Silundika School, which was set up shortly after independence by the Zimbabwe Foundation for Education with Protection (ZIMFEP) to provide education to former refugees and ex-combatants.

 

The late Martin Olds, his wife and parents helped the school in many ways, when others, both black and white, wanted nothing to do with it. … Mr Olds Snr lent the school a water pump that his son, Martin, installed and maintained for the next three years.

 

Mrs Olds collected books from farmers’ wives to help start the school library.   She and her husband used to bring gifts to the 200 orphans at the school and donated meat for open days.   She helped to start a women’s club … and managed to obtain a sewing machine for the group as well as stoves for baking.

 

…. Mr Olds worked closely with the first headmaster, Matthew Mtobi, to ensure that the school survived during the early years after independence when students and staff were still living in tents and some officials in the Ministry of Education wanted to disperse them and close the school.

 

While I do not know all the details of his death, it is a tragic irony that a white farmer who accepted the hand of reconciliation, and went out of his way to embrace change, should be the target of politically motivated violence.

 

I mourn him and the sad loss George Silundika School has suffered.   My deepest condolences go to his wife and children, and to all those Zimbabweans who believe that the land issue and political differences can be resolved through dialogue and negotiation rather than by confrontation and violence.”     

 

Sister Janice McLaughlin, Silveira House, Harare

 

Returning to Mrs Olds’ contribution to the community, The Rev Andrianatos said:  “Many a black child was brought to Gloria because of illness, hunger or poverty.   The children would always leave fed, clothed and cared for.   Gloria got on well with the local blacks and spoke the language fluently.

 

Her compassion and care extended beyond her family and friends.   It also extended beyond people, for it extended to animals.   Joy Smith’s collie was knocked over by a motorcar and its two front legs were broken.   When the breaks healed, he still could not walk, so Gloria took him in and taught him to walk again.   It took six months, but she succeeded.   Someone once commented that they loved Alf and Gloria’s home as everything in it moved, including the odd animal orphan being reared.

 

Gloria loved her dogs and they loved her.  Three of her dogs lost their lives in the attack and died at her side.   They were Blondie, Duke and Panarotti or Rotti (a stray Rotweiller she took in from the SPCA)…..”

 

(The background)….. On Sunday morning, March 4, Gloria got up as she had for the past 50 years and, after an early morning cup of tea, went to the gates of the fence around her house to open them for the day’s business.   It was a crisp morning – clear after weeks of wet weather, and three of her dogs accompanied her.   As she unlocked the gates, she was cut down by a hail of AK47 rifle bullets, fifteen of which actually hit her.  Then the attackers turned their weapons on the three dogs that had tried to defend her.  

 

Since it was Sunday, her son, David, came out to the farm from Bulawayo to see his mother and to check that the farm was in good order.   He arrived just after 9 and found his mother dead, with the three dead dogs at her side.   Absolutely distraught, David armed himself and for the next five hours sat with his mother and would not allow anyone to approach.   Eventually local farmers who had known David since he was a child on the farm, aided by their minister, the Rev Paul Andrianatos, persuaded David to allow them to remove his mother’s body to the local mortuary.   Even after that, David remained in the house and would not allow anyone near the property.

 

It was the second killing on their farm.  The first had been less than a year previously, when David’s brother, Martin had been shot dead outside his home by a group of over 100 Zanu-PF thugs, aided by both the police and the army.  

 

It is the image of a grown man sitting in the sun next to his mother’s body, unable to accept what had happened, and angry with everyone, that will remain.   He was especially angry with those who had failed to do their duty:  to protect ordinary citizens going about their daily work.

 

What went on in David’s head as he sat with his mother and mourned both her death and that of his brother?   How could he come to terms with the fact that he might have known the killers?  And that this should have happened after all his family had done over the years to help the local community – to provide assistance to victims of the liberation war and the people in the nearby communal farming areas?   Year after year his family had ploughed back every cent into the land they owned. 

 

They had struggled to build a life and to pay for schooling… They had struggled daily with the elements – drought and flood, disease and despair during the fifteen years of civil war when every move had to be planned like a military exercise.   There were the awful funeral services as the community buried their best, killed in ‘the line of duty’.   And now this, a senseless, needless killing of an old, defenseless woman outside the house that had been her home for a lifetime…..

 

After his tribute to Gloria Olds, the Rev Andrianatos turned to the reading:  Samuel 1 and 2:

 

‘Now the Philistines fought against Israel.   The Israelites fell before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa.   The Philistines pressed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons ….. Then David and all the men with him took their clothes and tore them.   They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.’

 

Following on from the reading, the Reverend Andrianatos said:

 

“When a loved one is taken away, especially in such a brutal and cowardly way, we have a right to express our grief.  We have the right to show anger.   We have the right to privacy.   On Sunday, after David had come across the body of his mother, he had the right to be alone with his mother … a right no one should be denied.   He had the right to privacy from the press, and even from the police and farmers.   He had the right to be angry with me and with God.   A right that the Psalmist, David, often used…

 

A 72-year-old woman has the right to dignity in death, and so it was fitting that Gloria’s body be covered and removed, so that she would not become a spectacle for others.

 

These cowards with AK 47 rifles were able to steal Gloria’s life, but they were not able to steal her dignity – a dignity secured by her son, David….  

 

Let us stand in honour of Gloria Olds.   Let us stand in silence, thinking about all that she did and all that she was.   Let us stand….”

 

The Rev Andrianatos paused for a few moments and then continued:

 

“Love at this time is very important, especially the love of a family.   They might have taken away the life of Gloria, but they cannot take away the love she had for her family, nor can they take away the good memories.

 

I say to all the farmers here, they may take away your land, but they can never take away the love your family has for you – love that is more important than any land….  Let us now pray for families and family love….”

 

After the prayer, the Reverend Andrianatos read out an editorial from the Bulawayo Chronicle:

 

“IN THIS, THERE IS NO HONOUR

 

 

The anguish of members of the Olds family of Nyamandlovu, who lost their second member to a violent shooting incident inside the space of 11 months on Sunday, is shared by responsible citizens.

 

Seventy-two year-old Mrs Gloria Olds had doggedly remained on the family farm, despite the brutal slaying of her son, Martin, last April.   Her reward was to be killed in a hail of bullets, together with three of her family dogs.

 

In truth, barbarism knows no bounds.

 

Even in a war scenario – which, to our knowledge, does not apply here – the murder of an old woman in so callous a manner is bereft of honour, and leaves civilised society cold.

 

The Zimbabwe Republic Police has reported no arrests so far in other farm slayings ….”

 

Setting aside the hard-hitting editorial, the minister said:  “Today is a sad day.   It is a sad day when one has to say farewell to a loved one – a mother, grandmother and sister.   It is even a sadder day when that person does not die peacefully in her sleep, but is shot down in cold blood.   It is a sad day when one cannot live peacefully on one’s property.  

 

It was a sad day for the police and law and order.   When the police were informed, they said that they could not come because they had no transport.    No police roadblocks were set up and it was left to the farmers to try to track down the missing vehicle.   I commend the farmers for the time and effort they put in.   Two planes were sent up and many farmers used their own vehicles to track down the perpetrators.

 

It is a sad day when Mbeki only acts against Mugabe because of external pressure.   It is a sad day when a Zanu-PF official says:  “We are willing to let this country go to ruin so that we can stay in power.”

 

It is a sad day when leaders no longer care about the welfare of their people, when they no longer have compassion.   It is a sad day when leaders tolerate and, in some cases, encourage lawlessness.   It is a sad day when men need semi-automatic weapons to murder a 72-year-old woman.   They are not men, they are … scum.   They are cowards.

 

For them I have bad news, for the Bible says, “Cursed is the man who kills his neighbour secretly.”  (Deut.  27:24)   In connection with law and order, the Bible says, “Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless and the widow.”  (Deut. 27:19).

 

The Reverend Andrianatos paused once again, and the silence was tangible.

 

“I will now pray for blessings and curses:

 

Father God, I thank You for those persons who have committed their lives to law and order.  I thank You for those persons who are willing to work in the police force.  Lord, I pray for Your blessing upon those policemen and women who uphold and administer the law fairly.   Lord, for those who do not, I pray for Your curse to be upon them.

 

For those judges and magistrates who administer justice fairly, I pray for Your blessing and for Your strength to carry out their duties.   For those officials who implement the laws, bless them, O Lord.   For those officials and cabinet ministers who do not, and who ignore and act against just laws, I pray for Your curse.

 

For those persons responsible for murder, especially the murder of Gloria Olds, I pray that they be cursed, and that they be aware, from this moment, that they are cursed.

 

I pray for the leaders of this country.   I pray that we may have leaders who are honest, sincere and have compassion for the people.   For them I pray a blessing.   For those leaders who are not, I pray for change, but if they are not willing to change, I pray that they be removed or cursed.

 

For those who mourn, Lord, I pray for blessing.   I pray that they may be comforted and strengthened, that they may know Your peace at this time.   I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ.   Amen.”

 

The congregation sat in stunned silence.   In today’s Zimbabwe, few people would dare to be so outspoken, and to invoke Old Testament vengeance publicly.

 

The Reverend Andrianatos began once more:

 

“(But) God is a God of love, a God of second chances.   He is a God of forgiveness.  

 

Those who have been cursed can have that curse removed and be forgiven.   In order for that, they need to confess what they have done.   They need to repent and change their ways.   They also need to face the consequences of their sin, whether that be a jail sentence, a death sentence, or something else, it now lies in their hands.

 

Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.   Yes, says the Spirit, they will rest from their labour, for their deeds will follow them….”

 

After the committal, closing hymn and benediction, the congregation stood once again in silence, a final tribute to a remarkable woman who had given everything she had to the country she loved, and to their outspoken minister, who had served them so well and so courageously, especially during the shattering twelve months of government-initiated violence.

 

As they turned to leave, the Reverend Andrianatos delivered his parting shot:   “For the convenience of those press members present, there are copies of the funeral service at the back of the church.   The cost is Z$30.   For those members of the CIO (Central Intelligence Organisation) who are present and require a copy, the price is the same:  Z$30.  

 

--oOo--

 

The void left by Gloria Olds' death will be impossible for her family members and friends to fill.  They will remember her sitting together with them in the home that she loved so much, with her old black cat, as old as her granddaughter, Martine, curled up on her lap.

 

They will remember the message sent by Martine and Angus, Martin’s greatly loved daughter and son, from their new home in England:

 

“Our darling, darling gogo (granny), such a strong lady, who was so proud of her two strong sons.   Whilst evil may try to destroy our family, nothing can ever destroy our precious memories.   When we were small, we stuck on the cupboard in your bedroom luminous stars and moons.   In your last letter to us, you mentioned how they still shone when the lights went out and that made you happy as you thought of us.   Gogo, now when we look up at the night sky, we will see you as the other bight star shining next to our dad’s.   We love you bigger than the sky.”  

Martine and Angus.                                                         

 

 

SUBSEQUENTLY:

 

Rev Paul Andrianatos had his residence permit rescinded after he had preached at Martin Olds’ funeral.  As a result, he had to leave Zimbabwe two days after Gloria Olds’ funeral.

 

The Editor of “The Chronicle” newspaper was replaced.

 

Sunday 22 April 2001 – newspaper report: 

 

“Barely two months after suspected ruling party militants fatally shot a 72-year-old white farmer, Mrs Gloria Olds of Nyamandlovu, the government announced plans to confiscate her family’s land.

 

A seizure notice signed by Agriculture Minister Joseph Made issued on Friday said that the 2 400 ha Silverstreams cattle ranch of Gloria Olds was among a new batch of 142 farms in western Zimbabwe being nationalised.  

 

Olds was the eighth white farmer killed in a year of violence linked to the illegal occupation of largely white-owned land.   On April 18 last year, Olds’ son Martin, 42, was shot dead.”

 

Border Gezi, Misister of Youth Development, Gender and Employment Creation died in a car accident on Saturday 28 April 2001.

 

Moven Mahachi, Minister of Defence (quoted at the beginning of the article) died in a car accident on Saturday 26 May 2001.

           

Chenjerai “Hitler” Hunzvi, leader of the war veterans, died on Monday 4 June 2001.   The official cause of death was given as cerebral malaria.  Hospital sources reported that the drugs he was given were those normally prescribed for the treatment of   AIDS.  President Mugabe praised him for his “extraordinary energy in rallying support for the ruling party.

 

Those who have no hope of political  victory

reach for the gun.

 

Ken Owen, retired Editor of South Africa’s Sunday Times

 

ENDS