Farmers move to recover legal costs
August 03 2010 at 01:16AM
Johannesburg – Three farmers whose farms were seized by the Zimbabwean
government will apply for a special order to recover legal costs in the
Pretoria High Court, their attorney said on Monday.
The farmers would launch the application against the Zimbabwean government
on Tuesday, Willie Spies, their attorney from AfriForum, said in a
statement.
The move followed the government’s scrapping an initial urgent application
against the farmers without offering to compensate them for wasted
expenditure.
Spies said the Zimbabwean government brought the action against the farmers
because it was apparently under the impression that the auction of its
properties in Cape Town was organised by AfriForum and the farmers.
“Although the farmers were the first ones to seize the properties, the
auctions were organised by German banking group KFW Bankengruppe.”
The auctions had been scheduled for July 27 and August 10 by the bank, which
was the legitimate holder of significant claims by a group of white farmers
contesting the seizure of their Zimbabwean farms.
“Despite the fact that the correct facts had been widely reported in the
media, the Zimbabwean government erroneously lodged an urgent application
against the Zimbabwean farmers Louis Fick, Richard Etheredge and Michael
Campbell.”
The initial urgent application against the farmers was to be heard on
Wednesday in the High Court in Pretoria.
But Zimbabwe launched another urgent application in the High Court in
Johannesburg last week, a day before the first auction of its South
African-owned properties was held, in a bid to stop it.
Bank spokesperson Axel Breitbach said the auctions had been suspended until
the court process was finalised.
Spies said it was clear the Zimbabwean government was trying to further
jeopardise the three farmers with random court applications.
“Although they were deprived of their income by the Zimbabwean government,
they have to incur high legal costs for their court cases against the
Zimbabwean government.”
That country’s government, in turn, was refusing to honour orders to pay
costs older than one year, including one by the Southern African Development
Community tribunal, Spies said. – Sapa