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Africa Subsaharan
Zimbabwe defends seizure of black farmerŽs land
2009-06-05
[Mail and Globe] Zimbabwe on Thursday urged a regional court not to step into a dispute with a black farmer who has accused the government of wrongly seizing his land. Luke Tembani became one of Zimbabwe's first black commercial farmers shortly after independence in 1980, but faced eviction on May 21 this year after the national agricultural bank sold his farm to recoup a loan.
The land belongs to the Peepul, Mr. Tembani. By accepting ownership of this land, you have taken yourself out of the Peepul. Eviction is the least of your worries.
Tembani has asked the tribunal of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to allow him to keep his land, saying the bank had reneged on a deal to allow him to sell part of his farm to settle the loan.

A lawyer for the government argued that the tribunal should not rule in the case because Tembani still had legal options in Zimbabwe to settle his case. "The applicant did not explore all legal avenues in Zimbabwe before turning to this tribunal," argued Zimbabwe's deputy attorney general Prince Machaya.
It's not like the rule of law exists, which is why all legal avenues are dead ends unless you are a Friend of Mugabe.
Tembani had taken a loan more than a decade ago from the Agricultural Bank of Zimbabwe (ABZ) to expand his farm operations.

According to court documents, he defaulted on part of his repayments when interest rates soared in 1997 as Zimbabwe's economic crisis unfolded. Documents filed with the tribunal stated that the bank had sold the farm in 2000, without any court hearings, even though Tembani was still living on it.

The tribunal reserved judgement in the case, and set no date for a ruling. But the court ordered the government to allow Tembani to stay on his land until a decision is made.
Posted by:

#9  Correction please, I never said he COLDN'T FARM, I said I WOULDN'T FARM under the circumstances, he can farm if he wants.
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2009-06-05 23:45  

#8  Hey, Jim, maybe your politians just worth more, and Africa is gone.

You can't say the guy couldn't farm because he was black.
Posted by: Rhodesiafever   2009-06-05 22:57  

#7  (I will go to my room without being told to) x 20 !
Posted by: Rhodesiafever   2009-06-05 22:37  

#6  Doesn't say he's farming he land, just that he's living there.

I wouldn't farm it, everything is likely to be taken anyway, give'm bare dirt, overgrown with weeds.
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2009-06-05 22:31  

#5  The guy still has 'legal options...' In Zimbabwe! They have learnt their English well, and that is their status, to be so clever with our own words. Bobland has led the World in so many fields, another first...., maybe not. And, yes, I do have an agenda, (lol), everyone knows they are evil, 5th Brigade, NKor b'stds in places around Bulawayo.

Bob Mugabe and ZANU-PF are leading the way for standards, and most of our guys probs corrupted THEM, truth be told...

If there was ever an argument for carrying, this is it. Tell the wife 2 mags fit in her hand-bag.
Posted by: Rhodesiafever   2009-06-05 22:30  

#4  Somebody running the show must have thought he was white, I guess.

I wonder how well this guy is running his farm anyway.
Posted by: gorb   2009-06-05 16:32  

#3  "First they came for the whites, but since I wasn't while, I didn't care...."
Posted by: Whomotch Dingle3224   2009-06-05 13:23  

#2  When Bob came for whitey, I said nuthin...
Now who Bob comin for?
Posted by: Farmin B. Hard   2009-06-05 13:18  

#1  But the court ordered the government to allow Tembani to stay on his land until a decision is made.

Finaly some brains pop up in Zim-Bobs-Way.
Posted by: Mstrmech   2009-06-05 12:20  

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