Supreme Court sanctions farm equipment seizures

By Lance Guma
06 November 2007

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that government is entitled to seize tractors and equipment put into storage by evicted white farmers. In a judgment made public on Tuesday, Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku predictably relied on supplementary land reform laws passed by a Zanu PF dominated parliament, which permit such seizures. The ruling claims the seizures are, ‘for the benefit of the public and for the purposes of furthering the land reform program.’ The case went to the country’s highest court after a group of white farmers appealed against the decision to take away their equipment, which had been stored in warehouses.

The farmers argued they had a constitutional right to own their property and demanded compensation at market value for property already seized. However Justice Chidyausiku, a beneficiary of the land grab himself, ruled the compensation could be made in ‘reasonable time,’ and on a case-by-case basis. Pressure group Justice for Agriculture (JAG) described the move as daylight robbery, arguing the farmers had put the equipment up for sale anyway and taking it away was robbing them of the little they had left, after losing their farms. John Worsley Worswick from JAG said the government is talking about 5 year compensation payments, when inflation is diluting the value of money on a daily basis.

Worswick described the ruling as a total mockery of law and said the decision was not based on law but politics. Meanwhile 9 white farmers in Chegutu will appear in court later this month on charges that they ignored eviction notices and failed to leave their farms by the 30th September. Mugabe’s ruling Zanu PF party has passed a litany of laws that bar farmers from challenging any land seizures and has also ensured they have a law for every possible eventuality. JAG say they are exploring other options and already have a case before a tribunal of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). They hope any decisions there would be actionable in Zimbabwe.

Since 2000 government has seized over 4000 white owned commercial farms. A huge chunk of these were allocated to senior government officials, military and state security personnel and other ruling party supporters. The land grab itself was a violent affair that resulted in the deaths of many white farmers and led to hundreds of thousands of farm workers losing their jobs. Mugabe’s method of land redistribution was all designed to strengthen his weakening grip on the country. The fallout from the exercise has seen perennial food, foreign currency and power shortages that have been made worse by corruption and mismanagement.