HARARE - The government has until today to notify a South African civil rights group if it intends to oppose its application to sue over the ongoing invasions of South African-owned land in Zimbabwe.The group, AfriForum, served legal papers on the government last week, after winning a High Court battle to sue the government in relation to the land attacks. The group is trying to enforce a 2008 regional ruling declaring Robert Mugabes land reform exercise unlawful. The ruling was passed down by the rights court of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which ordered the government to protect farmers and their rights to their land.
The ruling has been completely ignored and the government has even stated it no longer recognises the SADC Tribunals orders. AfriForum is now trying to have the ruling enforced from within South Africa. AfriForums lawyer, Willie Spies, said in a statement on Friday that the papers had been served by AfriForums legal representatives in Harare. Spies said that the Zimbabwean government had until next Thursday (today) to give notice of whether it intended opposing the application, which is set to be heard in court in February.