Kobus Joubert, 67, was shot dead and his wife Mariana, 64, was assaulted by assailants who also robbed them of $10,000 (£6,300) in cash. When attackers beat up Mrs Joubert, they also took her laptop accusing her family of being members of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change, now in a shaky inclusive government with Mr Mugabe's Zanu PF party.
"We are not sure whether this murder was criminal or political, at this stage, and this is very sensitive matter for our members," said Mike Clark, who monitors unrest on remaining white-owned farms for the Commercial Farmers' Union. "Kobus had about 50ha (123 acres) of tobacco in the ground when he died and so that has to be reaped somehow." Mr Joubert was one of the few remaining large scale tobacco growers left in Zimbabwe.
Two years ago, Mr Joubert, a former president of the Zimbabwe Tobacco Association, was attacked by militants loyal to Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president, The couple were forced to flee their home, Scottsdale farm, in the Chegutu district about 60 miles west of Harare, and set up camp in the grass alongside a national highway for several weeks. When the police tried to move them away, the couple protested saying that they had no other home. The late vice President Joseph Msika, who had tried to assist several white farmers since land invasions began in 2000, secured a permit for Mr Joubert to remain in his home and continue farming.
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