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 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 it since 2000.
The case, to be heard on Tuesday, is a first for the 14-nation SADC, which was established in 1992 but only opened to cases in April.
Campbell is 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 is the respondent in the case.
Campbell has turned to the SADC court while waiting for the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe to hand down judgement on his case following a hearing in March this year.
He is 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The rule of law in Zimbabwe had been replaced by ”rule by law,” Campbell said in a statement.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.”
The SADC tribunal is tasked with ensuring that SADC members respect the SADC treaty, which calls for respect for the rule of law. ‒ Sapa-DPA