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White farmer 'SADC's first case'
15/11/2007 09:01 - (SA)
Windhoek - A white Zimbabwean farmer is set to go to court in Namibia next week over attempts by the Zimbabwean government to seize his land, the first ever case to be heard by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal.
William Michael Campbell, 75, faces criminal charges in Zimbabwe for failing to vacate his farm located on the outskirts of Harare after numerous attempts to seize since 2000.
The case, to be heard on Tuesday, was a first for the 14-nation SADC, which was established in 1992 but only opened to cases in April.
Campbell was seeking an urgent interim interdict to halt the "continued onslaught of invasions and intimidation" on his farm pending a full hearing in Zimbabwe on the legality of land seizures. Authoritarian Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe was the respondent in the case.
Campbell had turned to the SADC court while waiting for the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe to hand down judgement on his case after a hearing in March this year.
He was one of only a few hundred white farmers still working the land in Zimbabwe after thousands had their farms seized, most without compensation, in a controversial land reform programme begun in 2000.
The rule of law in Zimbabwe had been replaced by "rule by law," Campbell said in a statement. "They can now put me in prison for being on land and in a home that I spent my life's work paying for," he said.
The SADC tribunal was tasked with ensuring that SADC members respect the SADC treaty, which called for respect for the rule of law, among other things.
Sapa-dpa
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