Zimbabwe Responds To Property Attachments In SA
01/04/2010 22:27:00
Harare, April 02, 2010 – The Zimbabwe Government property in South Africa is protected by diplomatic immunity and cannot therefore be attached, Legal Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa told the State-owned Herald in its Friday edition.
Chinamasa was responding to reports that a civic organisation in South Africa, Afriforum had successfully attached some properties in Cape Town, South Africa this week, belonging to the Zimbabwe government as compensation to white commercial farmers who lost their land during violent land seizures.
“Any judgement cannot be enforced… They cannot touch any of our properties because they are under diplomatic immunity. If they think they can get anything through the South African courts, they are just daydreaming.”
The paper also said the South African government had appealed against a ruling by a Pretoria high court judge last month upholding a Sadc Tribunal judgement ordering Zimbabwe to attach property belonging to the Zimbabwe government in South Africa.
The Sadc tribunal in Windhoek, Namibia ruled that the farmers should get back their land.
However the Zimbabwe government responded by pulling out of the Tribunal, in protest of the ruling, saying it was therefore no longer bound by the Tribunal’s decisions.
The paper quoted a chief director for Public Diplomacy in South Africa’s Department of International Relations, Kgomotso Molobi, saying South Africa had appealed against the ruling, which would stop any attachment of the
Zimbabwe government property in South Africa.
“The South African government has studied the judgement and it is appealing against it. However, we can’t comment further because the matter is before the courts and it would be sub-judice,” Molobi said.
Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to South Africa, Simon Khaya Moyo was also quoted saying: “The whole effort by this Afriforum organisation is to push a racial agenda. It is a well-known racial organisation represented only by
white people. They only serve the interests of white former Rhodesian farmers who do not appreciate the land reform programme but we cannot be bound by their wishful thinking. This push to attach Zimbabwe Government property is absolutely nonsensical.”