A white tobacco farmer from Mvurwi, north of Harare, has died after he was apparently beaten to death in his home, following a suspected robbery attempt in the early hours of Friday morning.

Colin Zietsman was with his wife in their home when unknown men broke into the house and demanded money. The assailants then attacked the couple and Zietsman and his wife Tinks were both seriously beaten. Zietsman died on the property.

According to the former president of the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) Deon Theron, Tinks was beaten unconscious, but managed to escape the house when she came to. She has since been hospitalised in a serious but stable condition.

Theron told SW Radio Africa that Tinks is still not clear on what exactly happened in the attack.

“She’s obviously very traumatised. All she keeps saying is that she can’t believe someone could be beaten to death like Colin was,” Theron said.

Theron, a friend of the family, described Zietsman as a “typical Zimbabwean, in that he was salt of the earth.”

“He was a good guy, a good farmer. He’ll be remembered for that,” Theron said.

Theron explained that it was too soon to question if the attack was anything more than a robbery-gone-wrong, but he said his friend’s death shows just how much Zimbabwe has changed in recent years.

“This kind of brutal and vicious attack is foreign to Zimbabwe when it comes to crime. We’re not like South Africa in terms of violent crime,” Theron said.

He added: “So many people now think they can do what they want without accountability and with absolute impunity. It’s just so sad.”

Zietsman’s death comes almost a year after Chegutu farmer Kobus Joubert was shot and killed on his property, in what appeared to be a violent robbery. Thieves shot Joubert in the head, assaulted his wife and stole US$10,000 and mobile phones. At the time, the CFU said in a statement that Joubert’s death “highlights the deteriorating situation currently being faced in the rural farming areas. This is a symptom of the flagrant disregard for the rule of law in these areas over the last ten years.”