Martin Olds

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April 19 2000

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By Selby Bokaba

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"A decade ago, he was a national hero embraced by (Zimbabwean President Robert) Mugabe, and a decade later he is brutally murdered and Mugabe just keeps mum about it."

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These were the words of a distraught Johannesburg aunt of Martin Olds, the Zimbabwean farmer who was murdered on Tuesday by war veterans eager to occupy his farm. She said the killers were not war veterans but a gang of criminals.

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Joy Smith, who immigrated to South Africa after Zimbabwe attained independence, said her nephew was given a bronze Medal of Valour by Mugabe in 1989 after saving a friend from the jaws of a crocodile.

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Olds was holidaying with two of his countrymen, George Parkin and George Dando, at Chete on Lake Kariba in 1989 when their fun almost ended in tragedy. Parkin was attacked by a crocodile. Olds literally pulled him from the jaws of death.

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According to a Zimbabwean newspaper, Parkin was securing two of the boats so that they would not bump against each other, when a crocodile grabbed him by the leg.

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Olds jumped in and pulled Parkin away from the crocodile and fought it until it let his friend go.

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He became an overnight hero and was pictured in local newspapers being presented with a medal by Mugabe for his bravery. But this week Olds's heroism was forgotten when he was butchered.

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Smith said she received a call on Tuesday while at work, informing her that Olds was surrounded by a group of chanting, armed men and had been wounded. She felt sick and immediately left work.

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That night, while she was watching the news at home, another call came through from her other relative telling her that Olds had been killed.

She said that when she saw a photo of her nephew splashed across the front page of The Star on Wednesday, she felt like vomiting.

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Smith added that the Zimbabwean farmers did not want confrontation, but wanted to resolve the land issue amicably.

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She said her nephew had heard through the rumour mill last week that war veterans would be coming to his village this week, so he took his wife and two children to Bulawayo.

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It is not known what will happen to his 12 000-hectare cattle farm and his thriving butchery in Nyamandlohvu.

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Olds was slain when dozens of invaders arrived at his farm in bakkies at about 6.30am on Tuesday and, after a gunbattle in which he wounded two of the attackers, Olds was shot dead and his body hacked.

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David Hasluck, director of the Commercial Farmers' Union, said Olds had called for help on his radio, but died after the attackers prevented ambulances from reaching him.

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Funeral arrangements had not yet been made, but South-African-based relatives will be flying to Zimbabwe on Thursday.

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Speaking from Bulawayo, Olds's widow Kathy said her husband was an exceptionally brave and highly principled person who stood for what he believed in.

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She said her family had been completely destroyed, and appealed to the Zimbabwean government to put a stop to the killings.