The CFU says that Mr Oakes was shot dead during an armed confrontation with two intruders who had broken into his home.

President Mugabe remains defiant

He lived on a farm in Trelawney, north of the capital, Harare.

With many white farmers facing invasions of their property by supporters of the governing Zanu-PF party, the lines between violent crime and political intimidation have become blurred.

Political leaders across the party divide have noted that criminal elements are taking advantage of the turmoil in the Zimbabwean countryside and exploiting the weakness of the overstretched national police force.

Government list

The murder comes as the Zimbabwean Government is preparing to publish a list of more than 800 farms which it says it will acquire and redistribute to landless peasants.

Political leaders say criminals are exploiting police weakness

This will happen under new legislation which was rushed through the Zanu-PF-dominated parliament shortly before its dissolution ahead of elections next month.

The government is pressing ahead with its own land redistribution programme after international donor nations, like the former colonial power Britain, refused to release funds for the purchase of land because of the violence and intimidation in the countryside.

The Zimbabwean Government will make quick political capital out of its land redistribution exercise, but observers say the long-term effect on the country's economy and international image will be disastrous.