soon came. Joubert also runs a tourist business from a separate lodge on his farm. Last week, the police moved in on the lodge and noisily evicted guests and staff alike. The white tourists either cut their holidays short or found other accommodation. The staff, with nowhere else to go, were homeless.

However, on May 21, the Zimbabwean judiciary once again demonstrated that it's still alive and kicking. The Bulawayo High Court ordered all police off the farm. Whether the police take the slightest notice of the court is, of course, another question.

Meanwhile, three white farmers in Karoi, Mashonaland West province, have petitioned Agriculture Minister Rugare Gumbo to reverse an order to vacate their farm. Brothers Paul,

Alex and James Stidolph, owners of Grand Parade Farm, have been told to hand it over to a senior army officer.

The Stidolphs point out in a letter to the minister that they were given a definite assurance in March 2006 by Vice-President Joseph Msika and Intelligence Minister Didymus Mutasa, that they would not be included in any 'land reform'.

"We do not want to close down. We want to expand our business," they say, in the clear knowledge that if they are evicted the farm stands little chance of continuing as a successful enterprise.

Soon they will learn what a definite assurance from a Zimbabwe Government minister is worth.