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SADC judgement on land reform
SADC Tribunal
November 28, 2008

http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=19795

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Factual background

On 11 October, 2007, Mike Campbell (Pvt) Limited and William Michael Campbell filed an application with the Southern African Development Community Tribunal (the Tribunal) challenging the acquisition by the Respondent of agricultural land known as Mount Carmell in the District of Chegutu in the Republic of Zimbabwe. Simultaneously, they filed an application in terms of Article 28 of the Protocol on Tribunal (the Protocol), as read with Rule 61 (2) - (5) of the Rules of Procedure of the SADC Tribunal (the Rules), for an interim measure restraining the Respondent from removing or allowing the removal of the Applicants from their land, pending the determination of the matter.

On 13 December, 2007, the Tribunal granted the interim measure through its ruling which in the relevant part stated as follows:

"[T]he Tribunal grants the application pending the determination of the main case and orders that the Republic of Zimbabwe shall take no steps, or permit no steps to be taken, directly or indirectly, whether by its agents or by orders, to evict from or interfere with the peaceful residence on, and beneficial use of, the farm known as Mount Carmell of Railway 19, measuring 1200.6484 hectares held under Deed of Transfer No. 10301/99, in the District of Chegutu in the Republic of Zimbabwe, by Mike Campbell (Pvt) Limited and William Michael Campbell, their employees and the families of such employees and of William Michael Campbell".

Subsequently, 77 other persons applied to intervene in the proceedings, pursuant to Article 30 of the Protocol, as read with Rule 70 of the Rules.

Additionally, the interveners applied, as a matter of urgency, for an interim measure restraining the Respondent from removing them from their agricultural lands, pending the determination of the matter.

On 28 March, 2008, the Tribunal granted the application to intervene in the proceedings and, just like in the Mike Campbell (Pvt) Ltd. and William Michael Campbell case, granted the interim measure sought. Mike Campbell (Pvt) Ltd. and William Michael Campbell case as well as the cases of the 77 other Applicants were thus consolidated into one case, hereinafter referred to as the Campbell case - vide Case SADC (T) No. 02/2008.

On the same day another application to intervene was filed by Albert Fungai Mutize and others (Case SADC (T) No. 08/2008). The Tribunal dismissed this application on the basis that it had no jurisdiction to entertain the matter since the alleged dispute in the application was between persons, namely, the Applicants in that case and those in the Campbell case and not between persons and a State, as required under Article 15 (1) of the Protocol.

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