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Eviction Deadline Looms in Zimbabwe
Thu Aug 8,10:18 AM ET
By ANGUS SHAW, Associated Press Writer
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - Just hours before thousands of white farmers were to be evicted from their land, some hopes of reprieve emerged Thursday after a court invalidated one of the eviction orders, saying the government had not followed proper procedures.
AP Photo
The effect of the ruling, which was brought on behalf of one farmer, was unclear. About 2,900 white farmers had been ordered to leave their land by midnight Thursday as part of the government's land reform program.
The government says its program is an effort to correct colonial era injustices by taking farms out of white hands and redistributing it to blacks. Critics say the program is part of a wider effort to crush Zimbabwe's opposition and charge that much of the seized land is earmarked for government officials and cronies.
As farmers prepared either to defy the eviction orders or to pack up and leave, Judge Charles Hungwe invalidated one order for farmer Andrew Kockett to leave his farm in northwestern Zimbabwe.
Hungwe, in a High Court ruling Wednesday made available Thursday, said that since Kockett had a mortgage on the property, the government had to consult the bank before evicting him.
Hungwe declared the order to evict Kockett from Tengwe Estate, 160 miles northwest of Harare, as "null and void and of no legal effect."
Neither Kockett nor lands ministry officials were immediately available for comment.
Ray Barretto, the farmer's lawyer, said the order meant Kockett was able to restart normal farming activities. He advised Kockett to show the written ruling to anyone who tried to occupy his land or evict him.
Many other farmers have mortgages on their land as well, farming officials said. The government has targeted 95 percent of white-owned farms for seizure.
The seizures come as half Zimbabwe's 12.5 million people face severe hunger, according to the World Food Program. The WFP blames the crisis on drought combined with the agricultural chaos caused by the seizures of commercial farms, mainly owned by whites.
On Wednesday, Vice President Joseph Msika tried to allay fears the government and ruling party militants would begin widespread and possibly violent evictions Friday.
Although he did not bow to union demands for an extension of the eviction deadline, he told a farmers' convention the nation needed "a deliberate blending of your experience, expertise and knowledge" to feed its people, currently facing severe food shortages."
Union officials said that while many farmers had packed up personal belongings, up to three fourths of those facing eviction vowed to stay on their land until it became clear what the government was going to do.
Ignatious Chombo, the local government minister, said the government expected farmers to leave when the deadline expired.
Those defying the orders "will be arrested and dealt with by police. It is fairly straightforward as far as I am concerned," he said.
Before the land seizures began two years ago, white farmers owned about one-third of the nation's productive land. About 7 million blacks lived on the remainder.
Over the past two years Zimbabwe has been wracked by political violence mainly blamed on the ruling party, and the agriculture-based economy has collapsed.
Thu Aug 8,10:18 AM ET
By ANGUS SHAW, Associated Press Writer
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - Just hours before thousands of white farmers were to be evicted from their land, some hopes of reprieve emerged Thursday after a court invalidated one of the eviction orders, saying the government had not followed proper procedures.
AP Photo
The effect of the ruling, which was brought on behalf of one farmer, was unclear. About 2,900 white farmers had been ordered to leave their land by midnight Thursday as part of the government's land reform program.
The government says its program is an effort to correct colonial era injustices by taking farms out of white hands and redistributing it to blacks. Critics say the program is part of a wider effort to crush Zimbabwe's opposition and charge that much of the seized land is earmarked for government officials and cronies.
As farmers prepared either to defy the eviction orders or to pack up and leave, Judge Charles Hungwe invalidated one order for farmer Andrew Kockett to leave his farm in northwestern Zimbabwe.
Hungwe, in a High Court ruling Wednesday made available Thursday, said that since Kockett had a mortgage on the property, the government had to consult the bank before evicting him.
Hungwe declared the order to evict Kockett from Tengwe Estate, 160 miles northwest of Harare, as "null and void and of no legal effect."
Neither Kockett nor lands ministry officials were immediately available for comment.
Ray Barretto, the farmer's lawyer, said the order meant Kockett was able to restart normal farming activities. He advised Kockett to show the written ruling to anyone who tried to occupy his land or evict him.
Many other farmers have mortgages on their land as well, farming officials said. The government has targeted 95 percent of white-owned farms for seizure.
The seizures come as half Zimbabwe's 12.5 million people face severe hunger, according to the World Food Program. The WFP blames the crisis on drought combined with the agricultural chaos caused by the seizures of commercial farms, mainly owned by whites.
On Wednesday, Vice President Joseph Msika tried to allay fears the government and ruling party militants would begin widespread and possibly violent evictions Friday.
Although he did not bow to union demands for an extension of the eviction deadline, he told a farmers' convention the nation needed "a deliberate blending of your experience, expertise and knowledge" to feed its people, currently facing severe food shortages."
Union officials said that while many farmers had packed up personal belongings, up to three fourths of those facing eviction vowed to stay on their land until it became clear what the government was going to do.
Ignatious Chombo, the local government minister, said the government expected farmers to leave when the deadline expired.
Those defying the orders "will be arrested and dealt with by police. It is fairly straightforward as far as I am concerned," he said.
Before the land seizures began two years ago, white farmers owned about one-third of the nation's productive land. About 7 million blacks lived on the remainder.
Over the past two years Zimbabwe has been wracked by political violence mainly blamed on the ruling party, and the agriculture-based economy has collapsed.
