Illegal Land Seizures and Arnold Payne

[Mike70560]

From the Legal Savuli Operators:

As many of you will know, a female so called War vet named Shuvai Mahofa has taken over Savuli Ranch in the Save Valley Conservancy. She claims that she has a legal lease on the property issued by the department of National Parks(who are not entitled to issue leases on Conservancy Properties) ,however the High Court of Zimbabwe has ruled ,in a number of decisions that the legal owners and operators of Savuli , namely Forever African Safaris, should continue operations on Savuli and that their operations should not be interfered with.
In contempt of these High Court decisions, Mahofa has evicted Forever African and its employees, trashed their belongings and thrown their furniture out on the road. In the meantime, Mr Ken Drummond has moved onto the property and is operating as Impala Safaris on the Property.
They are operating on a quota issued to Mahofa which has 5 lion on it. This in itself is farcical as this is more than the entire Save Conservancy quota and Savuli forms a tiny part of this . The issue of the quota itself is also in contempt of a High court determination that names Forever African as the rightful operator. Given that National Parks are withholding quotas from white operators in the Save, the handing of ridiculously high quota to an illegal operator is inexplicable and smacks of a complete disrespect for the rule of law from the upper echelons of Parks and indeed the Ministry itself. The fact that Provincial police have refused to action the terms of the High court Order supports this.
It has long been suspected that Drummond has paid Mahofa to act in his interest and secure a ranch in the Save Valley ,however the fact that he is now posting pictures of the Savuli camp and of several impressive trophies on the website of Impala Safaris Impala African Safaris which is owned and run by one Arnold Payne. A recent post by Mr Payne boasts of OUR Save valley Hunting concession and names several hunters who have taken impressive trophies on the property.
It is suspected that some of the clients who have hunted on Savuli are in fact US citizens . There is no doubt that Payne and Drummond would have assured these clients of the legalities of their hunts due to Mahofas supposed lease, however it is doubted that the High Court rulings would ever have been brought to the clients attention.
It is the intention of this post to inform any prospective client that Arnold Payne, Ken Drummond, Tikki Drummond, Impala Safaris and any agent thereof is acting completely and utterly illegally with respect to any and all of their actions on Savuli and within the Save Conservancy. This is not a legal opinion, it is the Opinion of the High Court of Zimbabwe as set down in their recent judgement.
Sadly this judgement has been totally ignored and the wholesale slaughter of animals on Savuli continues . Reports have been received that the National Parks contingent on Savuli (Placed there to ensure that the whites don't poach? Provincial wardens words) , have shot Sable, Nyala, Buffalo and Kudu for rations . Mahofa's brother has been seen regularly in Chiredzi and Masvingo selling game meat , in plain sight of local police who have taken no action.
The LEGAL owners of Savuli, The Legal operators and all of the Friends of this wonderful and very special place have vowed to keep fighting to regain control of Savuli .
I ask that this information is placed on as many Hunting and Information Forums as possible by anyone who feels , as we do, that an injustice has been done and that action needs to be taken.



This is truly sad. Anybody who participates in these illegal hunts should be ashamed.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Thanks Mike. If hunters quit supporting the illegal operations the legal owners might stand a chance.
Disheartening news.

 

[gillettehunter]

Sorry to hear of your troubles. Hope things get set back to right. Best of luck. Bruce

 

[James.Grage]

From what i heard and read, the Zimbabwe government is going to step up removal of whites from land and/or hunting concessions.

Plus work on removing white game ranchers from where they currently are.

The Zimbabwe government hold all land titles and no one in the country has title to the land that they are on. The government indicated that the process to provide land to homesteaders needs to be speed up.

Also the Government has indicated that they want there 51% of all incoming money generated.

Export permits are being held up as we speak on trophies taken this year in some areas in Zimbabwe. Read above on wanting there 51% of the money....

 

[tap]

the ph i hunted with in zim goes by the name grahm mayjer and his wife teaches swimming lessons for toddlers in bulawayo. His wife is best friends with ken drummonds wife and therefore this issue was a very touchy subjet with him but he did inform me what happened and that the white owners were evicted at gun point and told to leave their vehicles and tractors where they were and to leave. In addition the same woman also evicted the owners of another ranch in the west nicholson area. We hunted the ranch and were at least partially glad to see the whites were left with about 3000 hectares. However the land they were left with was incapable of growing grass and looked like a waste land. This is the area I shot my free range eland on. we had to wait for the eland to exit mr Drummonds illegally obtained land before we could shoot it. Mr Mayjer was anything but pleased at what his friend, Mr Drummond has turned into but he can't say much as Mr. Drummond employees him as a free lance PH. It is very sad to hear this and what is even more depressing is to see what happens when blacks take over land. They have the mentality of locust and do nothing more than rape the land. Every single property I set foot on (about 5 total) that had been taken over by blacks since the uprising had been decimated. They run so many cattle on the land that grass is not allowed to exist. It is common to find snares for game at least every 30 meters or so in some areas and game is non-existent. The beauty of the land and the proof of what the blacks ignorance is doing to it is just mind boggling.

I know at Doddieburn ranch the poaching was out of control even on the high fenced areas. On the cattle areas there was nothing but dirt and starving cattle left. The idiots with there cattle have completely and utterly raped the land and to their confusion they have no idea why the land has turned so poor in condition.

 

[TOM]

This makes my stomach turn. As an attorney I can't even imagine the destruction of society when the court orders and decisions are disregarded. Chaos. God help Zim.

 

[James.Grage]

TAP
Saw the same thing.
And the Government was out visiting white ranchers while is was there...Wanting the 51%.

not to mention the monthly meat allocations and water usage...

When you do not see a blade of grass and cattle at every little hut, where do they feed them...trees were cut down and moved to the side to try and crow corn and cotton that the government provide seed for the homesteaders.

Side cutters and wire are common site. Fences were cut in locations to let game animals out...

The thing i saw was the the blacks thought the wild game was never ending and will not run out...

the ph i hunted with in zim goes by the name grahm mayjer and his wife teaches swimming lessons for toddlers in bulawayo. His wife is best friends with ken drummonds wife and therefore this issue was a very touchy subjet with him but he did inform me what happened and that the white owners were evicted at gun point and told to leave their vehicles and tractors where they were and to leave. In addition the same woman also evicted the owners of another ranch in the west nicholson area. We hunted the ranch and were at least partially glad to see the whites were left with about 3000 hectares. However the land they were left with was incapable of growing grass and looked like a waste land. This is the area I shot my free range eland on. we had to wait for the eland to exit mr Drummonds illegally obtained land before we could shoot it. Mr Mayjer was anything but pleased at what his friend, Mr Drummond has turned into but he can't say much as Mr. Drummond employees him as a free lance PH. It is very sad to hear this and what is even more depressing is to see what happens when blacks take over land. They have the mentality of locust and do nothing more than rape the land. Every single property I set foot on (about 5 total) that had been taken over by blacks since the uprising had been decimated. They run so many cattle on the land that grass is not allowed to exist. It is common to find snares for game at least every 30 meters or so in some areas and game is non-existent. The beauty of the land and the proof of what the blacks ignorance is doing to it is just mind boggling.

I know at Doddieburn ranch the poaching was out of control even on the high fenced areas. On the cattle areas there was nothing but dirt and starving cattle left. The idiots with there cattle have completely and utterly raped the land and to their confusion they have no idea why the land has turned so poor in condition.

 

[lwaters]

Sounds like a good place to stay away from. It seems all I ever hear about is problems that hunters have when hunting there. I had a preacher in Namibia tell me if you want to hunt Africa at a reasonable cost and be safe keep it to RSA, Namibia, and Botswana. Sounds like good advise.

 

[tap]

james,

That is their exact mentality. If the blacks see 1 impala in 100,000 hectares of land then they say there is plenty of impala. Thats what the guys kept telling us. We saw a total of 2 groups of impala on the cattle areas in 3 weeks of which I shot 1 ram. When we flew out of doddieburn on the bush plane I had the guy circle several times to look for game. We couldn't find anything outsided of the high fenced area. I could definitely see what they meant by "plenty impala........ PLENTY!"

Flying into the bush camp in botswana we couldn see plenty of game everywhere even from 1500 feet up. Those zim guys are never going to figure out the big picture. Still I would go to no other place than zimbabwe for big cats. throw cattle into a cats diet and you have a recipe for some giant animals. At least those locals accidentally got something right.

 

[Wolverine67]

Well, the problem are that when the only wild things left are the cats. its not long before the cattle owners realize that they are a treath to their livelyhood and then the poisons and foot traps and other "effective" means are taken into action. A few years later, there is nothing left. So when the grass become very sparse, the cattle are replaced with goats.... In a couple of decades, there is nothing but wasteland and hunger and fammin sets in....In the meantime the politicians has stuffed their pockets and flee the country to live on their Swiss bankaccounts. TIA

 

[Baydog]

Ken Drummond is a hated man in Zim. I would never consider booking with him or any of his partners.

 

[Baydog]

War vet and white farmer behind Chiredzi ranch invasions | SW Radio Africa

More ranch invasions led by Drummond. If you do a google search you'll see all kinds of posts.

 

[Diamondhitch]

From the latest SCI newsletter.

Mugabe Roped In Poaching War: 滴ARARE - Tourism minister Walter Mzembi has sought President Robert Mugabe and his deputy Joice Mujuru's help in a vicious fight against top Zanu PF chiefs who have invaded wildlife conservancies with the backing of some top army officials. Highly placed sources told the Daily News Mzembi has been involved in a nasty fight with Shuvai Mahofa, a former Zanu PF MP and deputy minister over the invasion of a wildlife conservancy and poaching. Mzembi fears anarchy prevailing in the conservancies will dent the country's image ahead of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) general assembly conference which Zimbabwe is co-hosting with Zambia next year. The event is viewed as key to jumpstarting Zimbabwe's tourism sector which has suffered the brunt of bad publicity generated by a decade of political turmoil. Wildlife conservation activists claimed in interviews with the Daily News that Mahofa had strong backing from serving and retired military commanders, some of whom have interests in the conservancies where poaching is rife. Parks and Wildlife director general Vitalis Chadenga confirmed that poaching is rampant in the conservancies under dispute. Mzembi says he wants Mahofa, feared war veteran Francis Zimuto aka Black Jesus and a white farmer identified as Ken Drummond stopped from decimating animals in the lucrative ranch. A letter sent to Mugabe and Mujuru and seen by the Daily News states that Mahofa is acting illegally. 禅he High Court of Zimbabwe has ruled to suspend Mahofa's lease agreement and that Forever African Safaris are the rightful occupiers of the ranch in the Save Valley Conservancy, reads the communication. (Source: Daily News) Read the full article here Mugabe roped in poaching war

 

[spike.t]

the ph i hunted with in zim goes by the name grahm mayjer and his wife teaches swimming lessons for toddlers in bulawayo. His wife is best friends with ken drummonds wife and therefore this issue was a very touchy subjet with him but he did inform me what happened and that the white owners were evicted at gun point and told to leave their vehicles and tractors where they were and to leave. In addition the same woman also evicted the owners of another ranch in the west nicholson area. We hunted the ranch and were at least partially glad to see the whites were left with about 3000 hectares. However the land they were left with was incapable of growing grass and looked like a waste land. This is the area I shot my free range eland on. we had to wait for the eland to exit mr Drummonds illegally obtained land before we could shoot it. Mr Mayjer was anything but pleased at what his friend, Mr Drummond has turned into but he can't say much as Mr. Drummond employees him as a free lance PH. It is very sad to hear this and what is even more depressing is to see what happens when blacks take over land. They have the mentality of locust and do nothing more than rape the land. Every single property I set foot on (about 5 total) that had been taken over by blacks since the uprising had been decimated. They run so many cattle on the land that grass is not allowed to exist. It is common to find snares for game at least every 30 meters or so in some areas and game is non-existent. The beauty of the land and the proof of what the blacks ignorance is doing to it is just mind boggling.

I know at Doddieburn ranch the poaching was out of control even on the high fenced areas. On the cattle areas there was nothing but dirt and starving cattle left. The idiots with there cattle have completely and utterly raped the land and to their confusion they have no idea why the land has turned so poor in condition.

Tap its heartening to see an american writing truthfully about what you have seen in zimbabwe, unfortunately this mentality is prevalent through africa. i dont live there but first went about 23 years ago, and i have been involved in 2 private reserves for going on 10 years. i have spent a lot of time in zambia and zimbabwe and got to know some good people .i used to spend about 3 months a year jumping between the 2. what you have said about the mentality of most i think is true. they have no concept of tomorrow and if it doesnt kill them they dont think what if....? but will happily go and do the same thing again. they wont be happy till they have chopped every tree down , and killed every animal. then they will hold their hands out to the rest of the world to feed them.

 

[Second Wind]

As I said in a previous post this is not a hunting thing, it is not a human rights thing it is not even a nation building thing

It is simply a business matter

All that Zim has to attract hard currency is their wildlife

When that is gone it is gone so why would I, or any other hunter go.

For that matter why would anyone go to Zim on a photo safari if all the wildlife is gone

As word gets out as to the manner of the destruction of their wildlife it is going to put the tree huggers, PETA and the anti's in a pretty tough spot and, as is customary, they will simply pull back politically

Left with a heavily armed, starving populous unable to attract outside sympathy or support the next thing that will happen is bad

After the smoke clears and the carnage subsides one can only hope that 'things" will slowly revert to a more sustainable, realistic program of land ownership and wildlife management

This will take decades but it will have to happen because if it doesn't what you will have is something like Eritrea without public sympathy or worse something that resembles Hati

 

[sestoppelman]

Ken Drummond is a hated man in Zim. I would never consider booking with him or any of his partners.

Did not Drummond share a fence with Touch Africas land? I seem to remember being told some stories about them last year.

If wrong about that please correct me.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

I believe this situation is only going to see more and more operators moving over to Mozambique. Hopefully the gov't there will learn from Zim's errors.

 

[sestoppelman]

Its been said a bazillion times. Until Mugabe is gone, things aint gonna change much. And if he is alive to hand Zim over to one of his cronies it may not be any better. I wont likely ever return there.

 

[Second Wind]

P Phil

I think Mozy may have some potential for a number of reasons

Not only is their civil war past and behind them they have a real basis for developing their tourist, hunting and other, industry

Sarah Jane stumbled across a place called Casa Barry down in Tofu on the coast. She exchanged some e-mail with the people there and get this for an advertising pitch "This is where the wives and girlfriends of the buffalo hunters lay up while the boys are out slogging through the delta"

After having this shoved under my nose I must caution you this; do not, under any circumstance allow your wife to visit the Casa Barry web site....if you do you will be very quickly planning a trip to Mozy.

Ok, you've been warned

 

[Baydog]

Scott,same guy, not sure about sharing fences but he's very close. There was also a post on this forum about a year ago I think about Impala Safaris that wasn't very positive.