HARARE, Dec. 2 (NewsDay Live) - Seventeen years after the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) Tribunal issued a landmark ruling against Zimbabwe’s seizure of white-owned commercial farms, the court remains shuttered —leaving victims without compensation and exposing the fragility of regional justice mechanisms.
On November 28, 2007, the tribunal delivered a final and binding judgment in Mike Campbell and Others v. The Government of Zimbabwe, declaring the fast-track land reform programme illegal, racially discriminatory and in violation of Sadc human rights obligations.
It ordered “full and fair” compensation for affected farmers by June 2009.
“The first aspect to understand is that the judgment is final and binding from the highest judicial authority in southern Africa. Courts can be emasculated, closed down, or stopped from continuing to hear cases, but when a final and binding judgment is given, it stands. It cannot be changed.
“There is nowhere else for the Zimbabwe government to appeal. This judgment will continue to stand as an important human rights judgment that needs to be complied with,” said Ben Freeth, executive director for the Mike Campbell Foundation and spokesperson for Sadc Tribunal Rights Watch.
The ruling identified three key violations: land seizures were carried out without legal process; they targeted white farmers on racial grounds; and they stripped individuals of their livelihoods.
Despite this clear mandate, enforcement has been obstructed by political interference.
Judges were removed under former President Robert Mugabe, rendering the tribunal non-functional.
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“It has been suspended since 2011, despite the ability of Sadc member states to appoint new judges and restore operations,” Freeth noted.
He further explained: “The process was racial, in that it targeted people with white-coloured skin in a discriminatory way.
“Such discrimination was deemed to contravene the SADC Treaty of 1992 and all other human rights charters that Zimbabwe has signed.
“Thirdly, the tribunal ordered that compensation be paid to applicants—who were by that stage already off their properties—by June 2009. ‘Full and fair’ compensation includes the value of the land, as well as all structures and improvements. Yet those applicants have not received a single cent, 16-and-a-half years after the deadline.”
Freeth added that Mugabe and his allies deliberately ensured the case was blocked “by unilaterally removing the judges and ensuring that the tribunal became dysfunctional”.
International obligations have also been ignored.
The US Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2018 explicitly calls for compliance with the tribunal’s rulings.
Legal experts who spoke to this publication anonymously warn that Zimbabwe’s continued defiance sets a dangerous precedent for impunity across southern Africa.
Efforts to revive the tribunal have stalled.
At the August 2025 Sadc summit, member States pledged to restore the court, yet no tangible progress has been made.
Analysts say political considerations remain a key barrier, with some member states reluctant to confront Zimbabwe over unresolved compensation claims.
Farmers affected by the fast-track land reforms continue to live in uncertainty.
Many have struggled to rebuild their livelihoods, while others have pursued local legal remedies that offer little prospect of success.
Observers argue that the tribunal’s closure signals not only a failure to deliver justice for victims but also a broader erosion of the rule of law across the region.
