SADC Tribunal Hears First Case
(PANA)-The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal 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 grou nds. "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 Tribu nal. 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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