Ruling on ‘unlawful’ land reform to be enforced in SA

By Alex Bell
25 February 2010

A landmark regional ruling declaring Robert Mugabe’s land ‘reform’ programme unlawful will now be enforced in South Africa, after the High Court in Pretoria ruled that the ruling should be honoured.

Judge Garth Rabie ruled in favour of the South African commercial farmers who have been victims of Mugabe’s land grab campaign in Zimbabwe. The farmers had approached civil rights initiative AfriForum to help them get the 2008 ruling made by the human rights court of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) enforced. The same ruling, which said that land ‘reform’ was unlawful, has been openly ignored by the government, which by law is meant to adhere to the Tribunal as a SADC member state.

Justice Barack Patel last month also dismissed the SADC Tribunal ruling, refusing to register it in Zimbabwe. Justice Patel said the regional Tribunal’s ruling would have no effect in Zimbabwe because of the political upheaval reversing 10 years of land seizures would cause. He added that enforcing the Tribunal’s ruling would be against Zimbabwe’s domestic laws and agrarian policies, noting that ‘the greater public good must prevail.’

Registration of the SADC ruling is critical for it to be enforced and Zimbabwe’s commercial farmers, many of whom are South African citizens, have had no choice but to have the ruling registered in South Africa. AfriForum’s legal representative Willie Spies told SW Radio Africa on Thursday that the Pretoria High Court’s ruling was a huge coup for the farmers, calling it an important ‘moral victory.’ He added that it is a positive step for the region as a whole, because it sets a precedent that SADC Rulings cannot be so easily dismissed.

Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) President Deon Theron also applauded the Court’s decision, telling SW Radio Africa that “it opens up the doors for all kinds of possibilities.” He explained that commercial farmers will try seeking compensation for the land they lost because of land ‘reform’’ compensation that can be sought from Zimbabwean assets in South Africa.

“Honestly no one wants to see Zimbabwe’s assets stripped in South Africa, but when you have been abused like we (commercial farmers) have, we have to find some route to take to get compensation,” Theron said.