Zimbabwean farmer Ben Freeth has had a book published about life under Robert Mugabe

by business editor Trevor Sturgess

Courageous Zimbabwe farmer Ben Freeth met Sir Richard Branson during a visit to Kent and the UK to highlight the plight of workers in his troubled land.

Mr Freeth, from Oad Street, near Sittingbourne, is hoping the multi-millionaire and other business people will support the Mike Campbell Foundation.

The charity promotes the restoration of justice, the rule of law and human rights in Zimbabwe to encourage the return of business and investment. It also supports victims of violence, and workers who lost their jobs and were forced into poverty by President Robert Mugabe's "land grab".

It is named after Mr Freeth's father-in-law who lost his life after he was tortured, along with wife Angela and Mr Freeth, by Mugabe thugs.

Mr Freeth took on Mugabe through the courts and won the case - but the ruling was ignored by the regime. His latest legal cause is a fight for the reinstatement of the regional court of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal.

Mr Freeth, author of Mugabe And The White African and pictured right, was the main speaker at a conference in the Royal Geographical Society's London headquarters.

Speaking just before Zimbabwe voters backed a new constitution, which Mr Freeth claimed was flawed – one Orwellian clause holds that "discrimination is unfair... unless it is found to be fair" – he told an audience of several hundred the concept of truth was all important. But it had been ignored by the Mugabe regime.

"Truth is the foundation of law," he said. "Sustainable development does not happen without the truth."

Botswana was the most successful African country with the fastest-growing economy because "it spoke and believed the truth".

Asked why he continued to return to Zimbabwe after his farm had been destroyed and he and his family risked further violence, he said: "When there are situations that are bad and wrong, you can either run away or try and make a difference. As Christians, I believe it is important to make a difference.

"We believe we are in this situation for a purpose and we can serve this purpose by bringing our country forward and laying foundations for the future."

American economics professor Dr Craig Richardson explained the denial or removal of property rights had played a key role in the destruction of the Zimbabwe economy.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu sent a recorded message. He spoke of the need to end "the suffering of the people in that battered land so that its shattered economy can heal".

Meanwhile, Mr Freeth has written a new book, When Governments Stumble, which is due for publication in October.

For further details of Mr Freeth's campaign visit www.mikecampbellfoundation.com.