White Farmer Killed; Labor Group Calls Strike

A white farmer was shot dead, Zimbabwe’s major labor federation called a strike and two African presidents counseled compromise as President Robert Mugabe began his fifth term of office after a bitter vote condemned as massively flawed.

The Commercial Farmers’ Union said Terry Ford was attacked by blacks stationed on his farm under a government program to seize white-owned farms for redistribution to landless blacks. Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, once led by defeated presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai, announced a three-day strike. White farmers and union workers are key centers of opposition to Mugabe.

Earlier Monday, Presidents Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria met Mugabe and Tsvangirai to urge them to seek an accommodation.