The Sadc Tribunal will today (Dec 9) convene in Windhoek, Namibia to hear the case in which a Zimbabwean white farmer is contesting the compulsory acquisition of his farm by government.
A team of lawyers left Harare for Windhoek at the weekend to argue the case for Zimbabwe.
Mr. Michael Campbell, former owner of Mount Camel Farm in Chegutu lost legal fights to regain his farm in both the High Court and the Supreme Court. He is now seeking the intervention of the Sadc Tribunal arguing that the acquisition of farms was racially motivated and discriminated against him and other whites in the country.
In his papers filed with the tribunal, Campbell alluded to Article 6 of the Sadc Treaty, which prohibits member states from discriminating against any person on the basis of gender, religion, race, ethnic origin and culture. Zimbabwe is a signatory to the Sadc Treaty. However, some legal experts say the land reform programme was justified because it corrected the land imbalances created by colonialism.
Dr. Louis Antonio Mondlane, a judge from Mozambique heads the tribunal that comprises of 10 judges chosen from Sadc countries.
A lawyer in the Attorney General’s Office said the land reform exercise was done in terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, which Mr Campbell sought to attack under the Sadc Treaty. "A Constitution is an expression of the aspirations of the people and epitomised the sovereignty of the people. It should be respected and for one to question the legitimacy of that constitution saying it violates the Sadc Treaty is frivolous and vexatious. I hope the tribunal would make a landmark ruling in favour of Zimbabwe to acknowledge that land reform was necessary and had been done properly."
The Herald -Zimbabwe
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Zimbabwe farmer asks tribunal to hear land case
A Zimbabwean farmer on December 11 asked a regional tribunal to help block President Robert Mugabe's government from seizing his family's farm in a case that could draw Zimbabwe's neighbours into its thorny land redistribution debate.The Southern African Development Community (SADC) tribunal in the Namibian capital Windhoek must rule that it has jurisdiction over the matter if farmer Mike Campbell is to have any hope of saving the farm.
"If this application is successful, it will raise the matter to an entirely new level within SADC that will put the Zimbabwean government at odds with the other member countries," Adrian de Bourbon, Campbell's lawyer, said.
SADC, a regional grouping of 14 African nations that includes Zimbabwe, is trying to mediate an end to a political and economic crisis in the southern African nation that threatens to destabilise the region.
The bloc has asked South African President Thabo Mbeki to help broker an agreement between Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party and the main opposition party ahead of general elections scheduled for 2008.
Mugabe's government, often accused of human rights abuses, stifling political dissent and running Zimbabwe's economy into the ground, has seized thousands of white-owned farms and redistributed the land to blacks since 2000.
Less than 600 white farmers are still on their land, compared to 4,500 seven years ago. Zimbabwean officials, however, are continuing with the seizures and are opposing Campbell's bid to have his farm exempted from confiscation.
Zimbabwe's government says Campbell has not exhausted legal remedies available to him in Zimbabwe, an argument rejected by his lawyer.
If successful in getting the SADC tribunal to declare jurisdiction, Campbell intends to file an application for urgent interim relief against the seizure of his farm in the same court.
A decision is expected later this week.Reuters
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SADC Tribunal hears its first case
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tr ibunal will Thursday deliver judgement in a landmark case in which a white Zimbabwean commercial fa rmer is challenging the legality of that country's land reform programme.
The groundbreaking case was heard Wednesday in Namibia's capital, Windhoek, whe re the Tribunal is based.
SADC Tribunal Registrar Justice Charles Mkandawire said the judgement would be announced Thursday.
The case, which political observers described as an acid test of the regional b loc's commitment to democracy and the rule of law, was heard by three judges.
Senior Counsel Adrian de Bourbon, representing Zimbabwean farmer William Campbe ll, said the legal challenge was seeking relief for the farmer, his family and his employees from 'continue d onslaught of invasions and intimidation' on his farm.
Campbell also argued that the expropriation of his farm was done on racial grounds.
"If this application is successful, it will raise the matter to an entirely new level within SADC that will put the Zimbabwean government at odds with the other member countries," De Bourbon said.
Campbell faces charges in Zimbabwean courts for refusing to vacate his land whi ch the government said has earmarked for compulsory acquisition under its controversial land reform programme.
Campbell still employs about 250 workers in his farm, De Bourbon told the Tribunal.
He said his client had also experienced delays from the Zimbabwe Supreme Court in ruling on Constitutional Amendment 17 of 2005, which Campbell launched a legal challenge against early this year.
The amendment removes the legal right of farm owners to challenge compulsory la nd expropriations in a court in Zimbabwe.
"We have also written to the Supreme Court asking it for some urgency in dealin g with the matter and have not heard from them. My client is in the dark," said de Bourbon.
He added: "When it became apparent that the Supreme Court ruling would take a l ong time, the respondent (government) took the law into its hands and has been trying everything to dispose the applicant from hi s land."
Junior level legal officials from Zimbabwe's Attorney General's office, who are representing the country at the case, argued that the Tribunal does not have the jurisdiction since the matter is already in Zimbabw ean courts.
De Bourbon replied that the Zimbabwean constitution ``excludes any recourse thr ough the courts such that the question of a domestic remedy to solve the case does not help''.
"We were left with no other alternative besides approaching this court," De Bou rbon said to the packed courtroom.
Zimbabwe kicked out more than 4,000 white commercial farmers in a controversial and often violent land reform programme, which the government argued is meant to correct historical imbalances in land ownership.
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