Zimbabwe white farmers seek court intervention in land dispute
APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) Zimbabwe’s white farmers have applied to the country’s
Supreme Court for an order granting a moratorium on ongoing evictions from
farms expropriated by the government and preventing further acquisition of
equipment and materials, the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) said here
Saturday.
CFU president Deon Theron said the union and several of its members made
application before five judges of the Constitutional Court in Harare to seek
relief against a wide range of flagrant violations of their constitutional
rights.
He said the broad issues raised in the application included the
constitutionality of the manner in which Lands Minister Herbert Murerwa
allocated farming land by way of offer letters leading to forced evictions
as well as the continued prosecution “of only white farmers” for refusing to
vacate expropriated farms.
Theron contended that the prosecution of the white farmers was racially
motivated and violated their rights as enshrined in the Constitution.
“The CFU considered the abuses complained of to be so serious and of such
national importance that the highest court has been urged to grant a
moratorium effectively preventing any further eviction of any white farmer
in occupation of farm land and further preventing the acquisition of any
farm equipment and material,” Theron said.
The Attorney General’s Office has in recent months stepped up prosecution of
white farmers it claims are refusing to vacate land acquired by the
government for purposes of redistribution to landless blacks.
This is despite the fact that the Southern African Development (SADC)
Tribunal ruled in 2008 that the government’s land reform programme is
discriminatory and illegal under the SADC Treaty to which Zimbabwe is a
signatory.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has ordered the arrest and prosecution of
the farm invaders but his word is largely ignored with farmers reporting
continuing invasions of their properties and disruption of farming
activities.
President Robert Mugabe’s supporters and members of the army and police
stepped up farm invasions almost immediately after the formation of the
inclusive government in February 2009.
JN/daj/APA
2010-10-02