British Lawyer scams Zimbabwe farmers of thousands of pounds

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A South Tyneside Lawyer in the UK has been struck off for conning Zimbabwean farmers out of thousands of pounds. John Asher Lockwood told desperate farmers who had been evicted from their land by the Zimbabwean government that he could help them claim compensation from the Britishgovernment. But a tribunal heard yesterday that he made no effort to push forward with the multi-party action he had offered the farmers, and failed to answer their calls and letters when they started to become concerned. Each farmer was asked to pay a non-refundable deposit of £1,000 and sign an agreement entitling Mr Lockwood to a percentage of any compensation they won. Mr Lockwood also told the farmers that he was a partner in a firm based in South Shields, despite only recently completing his training. He, in fact, left the firm in 2001, but continued to encourage his clients to sign up for the litigation. Mr Lockwood was not present at the hearing at the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), despite having been notified by the court both by letter and through a newspaper advertisement. Acting for the SRA, George Marriot said that Mr Lockwood's absence coupled with his last communication with the SRA, might give the impression "that he really couldn't care less" in any event. Mr Lockwood, 46, who is now believed to be living Washington, was found guilty of two allegations of dishonesty, including the misappropriation of clients' funds and passing himself off as a partner in a law firm. The board also found proven that he had persuaded his clients to enter into an unlawful agreement, had breached his professional code and failed to progress any of the matters he had been contracted to do. The tribunal heard that Mr Lockwood received legal advice from a QC about his proposed compensation claim, who said that the route to apply for the money was no longer available. But Mr Marriot said: "He hid behind privilege to avoid releasing any further details of the possible success of the litigation either to his clients or to investigators." Mr Marriot added that when Mr Lockwood left the firm for whom he was working and the account into which the farmers had paid their deposits was closed, at least £27,000 disappeared. Twenty-seven Zimbabwean farmers proved that they paid money into the account, but investigators believe there could be more. Mr Marriot said: "I would ask the court to draw the inference that Mr Lockwood took the money for his own personal gain." Mr Lockwood was ordered to pay costs of £10,380 and struck off the roll of solicitors.

Zim the most aid dependent

Johannesburg - Zimbabwe is the most food aid dependent country in the world, aid agencies said on Tuesday.

Also, nearly 55% of children who died of cholera in the southern African country were malnourished.

This is according to a report released by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, quoting numbers from the World Food Programme.

"Per capita, Zimbabwe is now the most food aid dependent country in the world. The World Food Programme believes that seven million people are in need of food assistance - somewhere between 65 and 80% of the population," the report states.

"The UN believes that 54% of all children who have died from cholera were malnourished, with 47% of the country's population undernourished."

The food crisis was caused by several factors including hyperinflation which disenfranchised many agriculture farmers, the report states.

Substandard seed

"Zimbabwe's fields are sown with substandard seed, scavenged often from granaries or from the side of the road. It is extraordinarily unlikely that the 2009 harvest will significantly surpass 2008 - the worst in the country's history," says the report.

The country's woes started escalating in 2000 when President Robert Mugabe's government lost a referendum to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change and sanctioned an aggressive land reform programme in which the majority of white farmers lost their land to war veterans.

This resulted in a food crisis, exacerbated by drought and later by hyper-inflation.

The country was plunged into socio-economic turmoil, political violence and eventually a collapse of infrastructure, alongside a deadly cholera epidemic last year that killed more than 4 000 people.

Mugabe late last year finally agreed to form a government of national unity with opposition leaders.

- SAPA

FACTBOX-Human rights still poor in Africa, US says

Feb 25 (Reuters) - Human rights remained poor in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa in 2008, according to the U.S. State Department's global survey released on Wednesday.

Following is a summary of some of its findings:

SUDAN

The government's human rights record remained poor as it bombed villages, killed civilians and collaborated with militias in the troubled Darfur region, and rebel groups there continued to commit serious abuses as well. Both sides beat and raped civilians, recruited child soldiers and harassed aid groups. Serious abuses continued in the country's southern region as well, including extrajudicial killings and beatings.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

The government's human rights record remained poor. Internal conflicts had an extremely negative effect on security and human rights during the year. Government control over many regions remained weak, and civilian authorities generally did not control the security forces, which committed unlawful killings, torture and rape, recruited child soldiers and forced civilian labor. Life-threatening conditions persisted in prison facilities. Armed groups continued to commit serious abuses, some of which may have constituted war crimes.

ZIMBABWE

The government continued to engage in the pervasive and systematic abuse of human rights, which increased during the year. President Robert Mugabe's ruling party manipulated the political process through violence, corruption and intimidation. Unlawful killings and motivated abductions increased and prison conditions were life-threatening. The government continued to evict citizens and demolish homes and marketplaces and repress freedom of speech, press and assembly, and it worsened food insecurity by blocking aid groups' operations.

ETHIOPIA

Continued fighting between government forces and an insurgent movement in the Ogaden region resulted in allegations of abuses by all sides, including diversion of food aid. There were fewer reports of extrajudicial killings but abuses persisted. Other reported violations include arbitrary arrest, poor prison conditions, torture and beatings, police and judicial corruption, and restrictions on freedoms of assembly and the press and exploitation of women and children.

SOMALIA

The country's poor human rights situation deteriorated further during the year, exacerbated by the absence of effective governance institutions and rule of law and the widespread availability of weapons.

SOUTH AFRICA

The government generally respected the rights of its citizens but violations included use of excessive force by police, vigilante and mob violence, severe overcrowding of prisons, pervasive violence against women, and child labor.

NIGERIA

The government's human rights record remained poor and officials at all levels continued to commit serious abuses. Security forces acted with impunity and committed extrajudicial killings, torture and rape, and arrested citizens arbitrarily. Corruption, vigilante killings, forced labor and restrictions on freedoms of speech and assembly remained problematic.

(Reporting by Andy Sullivan in Washington; Editing by Bill Trott)

Source:Reuters