Chinamasa slams SADC land ruling & condones farm attacks

By Alex Bell
15 June 2009

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa has slammed a SADC Tribunal ruling, meant to put a stop to the ongoing wave of farm invasions, saying orders by the human rights court have no legal force in Zimbabwe.

In an interview with The Zimbabwe Times, Chinamasa warned the regional bloc’s human rights court against trying to ‘lecture’ Robert Mugabe on restoring the rule of law to the continuing land attacks. He also condoned the attacks that have left thousands of farm workers without jobs, saying they are a ‘justified protest against unfair land ownership by the white descendants of colonial-era settlers.’

The SADC Tribunal this month ruled that the Zimbabwe government had refused to comply with the regional court’s order to allow 78 commercial farmers to keep their land. Last year the Tribunal ruled that the farmers could remain on their land, which was targeted for resettlement under Robert Mugabe’s land reform scheme. The order was meant to offer legal protection against future land invasions, and the government was also supposed to protect the farmers from future land attacks.

But Mugabe unsurprisingly dismissed the November verdict and publicly condoned the renewed offensive against the country’s remaining commercial farmers. The physical attacks and fast track prosecution of farmers intensified in the weeks that followed the dictator’s speech earlier this year, and even Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai went as far as to downplay the severity of the ongoing land invasions. The farmers were forced to return to the SADC court early this month to seek further action to enforce the court’s original ruling, and walked away victorious with a new ruling in their favour.

The court ruled that the government had not only breached the November ruling, but was also in contempt of the regional court. The government was also ordered to make financial compensation to the farmers affected by the land attacks. But when asked if the government would now adhere to the new SADC ruling, Chinamasa responded: “Of course not.”

“The tribunal has no jurisdiction over Zimbabwe. We are not State party to the (SADC Tribunal) protocol and it has no jurisdiction over Zimbabwe. The judges are not SADC,” Chinamasa said.

The Tribunal concluded its ruling by referring Zimbabwe’s contempt to SADC leaders for consideration of measures to be taken under the SADC Treaty against the government. These measures could include sanctions or expulsion of Zimbabwe from SADC. Justice for Agriculture’s (JAG) John Worsley-Worswick explained on Monday that it was now up to SADC countries to enforce SADC law, adding that SADC is responsible, with Zimbabwe as a SADC member state, for the safety and human rights of Zimbabweans.
Zimbabwe, as a signatory to the SADC Treaty, is bound by law to respect the regional bloc’s rulings. The government has blatantly used this relationship within the SADC bloc to garner financial support from fellow Southern African nations. But with regards to the SADC rulings on land reform, the government refuses to respect SADC law. SADC itself meanwhile has remained deafeningly silent on the matter.

The JAG official meanwhile expressed grave concern for what Chinamasa’s comments will mean for Zimbabwe’s beleaguered farming community saying it will ‘heighten their anxieties.’ He continued that there is a ‘very real danger that the last of the farmers will be driven off their land,’ in what he fears will be ‘a bloody campaign.’

“ZANU PF doesn’t want any farmers left to bear witness to what they have done, and they certainly don’t want any unchecked food produced,” Worsley-Worswick said.
He added “It is very worrying especially in a country that needs food as badly as Zimbabwe does.”