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White farmers' equipment seized
06/11/2007 13:01 - (SA)
Harare - Zimbabwe's supreme court has ruled that the government can seize equipment belonging to white farmers whose properties were expropriated under controversial land reforms, say reports.
It was reported that the highest court of appeal on Monday upheld a law allowing the government to keep hold of all equipment and machinery belonging to white former commercial farmers whose farms were seized.
Chief justice Godfrey Chidyausiku was quoted as saying: "I am satisfied that the compulsory acquisition in terms of the Act is for a purpose beneficial to the public generally or to a section of the public."
The judgment followed an appeal by a group of farmers challenging the constitutionality of the Acquisition of Farm Equipment or Material Act, which allowed the government to "compulsorily acquire" any farming equipment and material left behind by white farmers.
White farmers 'destroy equipment'
The farmers also argued that the law did not provide for fair compensation for seized property.
Although the government had made offers to farmers to compensate them for equipment seized during the expropriations, the Commercial Farmers' Union said the cash on the table represented only a fraction of the true value.
Before the law came into effect in 2004, the government had accused white farmers who lost their land of trying to export, lock up or destroy their equipment.
Under the regulations, it was an offence for a farmer to damage or get rid of any equipment without the authorisation from the lands minister.
Nearly eight years ago, the government embarked on a controversial reform programme to acquire millions of hectares of land from whites and redistribute it to blacks.
A small group of about 4 500 white farmers owned a third of the country's land including 70% of prime farmland before the government launched the programme.
According to farming officials, about 400 white farmers now remained in Zimbabwe with a number of them facing trial for defying government eviction orders.
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