SADC court snubs farmers urgent bid

The 2008 SADC Tribunal ruling, declaring the land grab campaign unlawful, has been completely ignored by the government, which was eventually charged with contempt. The contempt charge did not force the government to intervene in the ongoing land attacks and the prosecution of the remaining commercial farmers. The farmers meanwhile had tried to get the ruling registered in the High Court, a move necessary to have it enforced. But High Court Judge Bharat Patel dismissed these efforts and further dismissed the ruling itself, saying it was a threat to the greater good of Zimbabwe and against public policy.

Chegutu commercial farmer, Ben Freeth, who heads the SADC Tribunal Rights Watch group, said the farmers, who have lost land as a result of land reform, had returned to the Tribunal this week to force the regional body to intervene. He explained that the application, which the Tribunal refused to hear on Tuesday, was essentially another application of contempt against the government and the High Court for dismissing the ruling.

We were also trying to seek an enforcement order from the Tribunal, that would have urged the SADC leaders to take measures that might involve suspension or expulsion of Zimbabwe from SADC, Freeth explained.

Freeth said the application was not put on the court roll, despite the court date being confirmed weeks in advance. He then questioned whether Robert Mugabes weekend trip to Namibia, where the Tribunal sits, could have influenced the courts decision to snub the farmers.

This courts behaviour is critical for the region as a whole and it is a travesty of justice that we were not heard, Freeth said.

The same ruling has already been registered in South Africas courts, where Judge Garth Rabie ruled that the SADC ruling should be honoured. Judge Rabie ruled in favour of South African commercial farmers who have been victims of Mugabes land grab campaign in Zimbabwe. The farmers had approached civil rights initiative AfriForum to help them get the 2008 SADC ruling enforced because of Zimbabwes refusal to do so. AfriForum has now been assessing what Zimbabwean assets, including four properties in Cape Town, can be seized to serve as compensation for the farmers who lost land.

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa has dismissed the South African High Courts move as null and void, calling the attempts to attach assets nothing more than political grandstanding. He instead argued that the farmers should approach the government and claim compensation from there.

The litigation is meant to attract world attention. Can they really get enough money from attaching four houses in Cape Town? They cannot touch any of our properties because they are under diplomatic immunity, he said.

Zimbabwe meanwhile is facing critical food shortages because there is not enough locally produced food to feed the nation. This has been a direct result of the land grab campaign that saw the majority of productive farms left untended. The Red Cross is now warning that well over 2 million people are in need of food aid. And yet SADC still refuses to intervene.