State and Pentecostal bishop collude in persecution of white Christians

Zimbabwe, July 13, 2017: The Smart family have farmed in Zimbabwe for generations. But now they have been driven from their land and forced into poverty by the state and a corrupt churchman.

The family lost more than 90% of their farmland in the year 2000, when Mugabe’s government “redistributed” two million hectares supposedly to redress the historical imbalance of land ownership between blacks and whites; the Smarts went from working a large-scale farm of 8,000 hectares to cultivating 700 hectares, only 120 of which were fertile enough to grow crops. Then a local Pentecostal Bishop, a former President of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, announced he was commandeering 100 of their remaining hectares.

Bishop Manhanga sent his workers onto the Smart’s land and, when some of the Smart family’s employees confronted them, 71-year-old Rob Smart and his son Darryn were arrested; they were made to spend the night sleeping on a concrete prison floor. On 31 May 2017 the Smarts were served an eviction notice and armed police in riot gear expelled them from their homes. The whole Smart family, including Darryn and his young children, fled to the hills as gunshots echoed behind them. They can now no longer access their land, as the roads have been blocked with logs and their farm is guarded by armed men. The Smarts managed to rescue two horses, but all of their one hundred chickens have starved to death.

For years, Zimbabwe’s dictator has oppressed the white farming community, but in the Smart’s case, the state was aided and abetted in its programme of persecution by a supposed man of God.

Barnabas Fund is supporting poor white farmers and pensioners in Zimbabwe – as well as ex-servicemen – through feeding programmes. These provide regular meals to Christians who have been abandoned to starvation by their own government.

– barnabas persecution update