Farmers fined for assaulting worker

By Farayi Machamire

Two commercial farmers in Marondera were fined $50 last week for assaulting their farm worker who wanted to take a day off. Stewart and David Tippet pleaded guilty to assault charges when they appeared before Marondera magistrate Ignatius Mhene on January 26.

They were fined $50 for the altercation which left their farm worker Lovemore Vhuruza with an injured finger.

It was proven that Vhuruza got a rude awakening when he went to see his superiors to enquire about when he could take his day off.

The Tippet brothers then took turns to push him out of the office and in the process inadvertently injured Vhuruza’s right hand finger.

Stewart and David did not waste the court’s time and admitted to the charges, insisting they were sorry.

Raymond Sixpence, the general-secretary of the Progressive Agriculture and Allied Industries Workers Union of Zimbabwe encouraged farm workers and their employers to have cordial relations.

“Employers should not take the law into their own hands especially without provocation,” he said.

“If they had been provoked they should have called their security but that was not done. Farmers should focus on that. We also encourage other farm workers to be united. A lot of times workers are exploited because they do not know their rights.” DailyNews