Blow for white farmers as SADC Tribunal suspended

Headlines, News — By on August 18, 2010 3:43 am

By Fortune Tazvida (Editor)

SADC leaders this week showed they have no stomach to bring President Robert Mugabe to book for continuously violating the rulings of the SADC Tribunal based in Windhoek Namibia. Instead regional heads of state and government resolved to suspend the SADC Tribunal pending the outcome of a review by the bloc’s justice ministers and attorney-general’s.

White farmers who lost their land to a violent land grab under Mugabe’s regime took their case to the Tribunal arguing the basis of the land grab was discriminatory and that they should be allowed to continue their farming operations. The most famous of these farmers being Mike Campbell and Ben Freeth of Mt Carmel farm just outside Harare.

Despite the tribunal ruling in their favour Mugabe’s regime has continued to ignore the ruling of the SADC Tribunal claiming the government did not ratify the treaty that set up the Tribunal in the first place. On Tuesday it was reported the SADC summit had tasked the justice ministers and Attorney General’s to investigate the tribunal’s operations.

There were no prizes for guessing this was an easy way for SADC to cop out of bringing Mugabe to book. We are told the review of the operations of the Tribunal ‘follows concerns raised by Zimbabwe querying the legitimacy of the tribunal’s rulings. The process will last six months during which the body cannot entertain any cases pending re-constitution of its mandate and operations.’

Zimbabwe’s Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa took the time to lecture journalists on the fact that the SADC Tribunal Treaty was only ratified by 5 countries out of the 15 that make up SADC. For the Tribunal to work properly it needs ratification by 10 member-states he said.

“We need a tribunal, by whatever name, it is a necessary instrument for our integration but it must be done on a sound footing which recognises negotiations between member countries over those issues member countries want to refer to the tribunal,” he said.

So why did you send lawyers to defend the government at the same SADC Tribunal in Namibia ‘comrade’ Chinamasa?

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