Court ruling fails to stop the exodus of Zimbabwe farmers

In his 40 years of farming in Zimbabwe's fertile Mashonaland province, Andy Thompson has never endured such anxiety and uncertainty.

He is one of nearly 3,000 farmers who had been ordered by the government to vacate their property by midnight last night and surrender it for black resettlement. While many other farmers were packing their bags to go, Mr Thompson said he would stay put. "I will just hang in here and see what happens next," he said.

Signs of trouble for those who defy the order came from central Mashonaland where a farmer was beaten by squatters on his property on Tuesday night. Collin Shandy said the squatters blocked the road to his farmhouse with logs and threatened to kill him unless he moved from his farm.

"I am in my home as I speak to you right now," Mr Shandy said. "My neighbours have gone but I have nowhere else to go. I am afraid and very anxious but I will stay. I will wait to see what happens next."

A High Court judgment offered many farmers a reprieve yesterday but did little to ease the anxieties of Mr Thompson and Mr Shandy.

President Robert Mugabe has publicly declared that he will no longer respect court judgments that he deems unobjective. He has also ignored all court judgments against his controversial land reforms.

Judge Charles Hungwe ruled that the government must notify whoever holds the title to a property before their land can be seized. In most cases, banks or other mortgage lenders hold the titles. None of these institutions has received notice that the government plans to seize the land for resettlement by black farmers.

The 11th-hour ruling came in the case of Fumeira Estate farm owned by Andrew Kockett, who has a mortgage bond registered with a local bank.

The court said the government's oversight rendered the eviction orders "null and void and of no legal effect".

"If it [the government] failed or omitted to take any of the laid-down steps ... only invalidity can follow," Mr Justice Hungwe said. It was not clear how many farmers would benefit from the ruling but most white-owned farms are mortgaged with banks.

Mr Shandy said: "I have a copy of that judgment in my hands right now but I don't think they will accept it. These illegal settlers have become a law unto themselves and there is a possibility that even if the government does not evict farmers, the settlers will move in to cause chaos and havoc."

Reports from different parts of the country said farmers were leaving their properties.

Mr Mugabe's militant supporters were said to be milling impatiently around Larry Norton's farmhouse in Mvurwi, north-east of Harare, urging him to pack more quickly and go. Mr Norton was abandoning the 4,000-acre farm where he grew tobacco, maize and wheat and ran a game ranch. He fought back tears as he tried to describe what the farm meant to him, his wife and their three children.

"My father is in a terrible state, and he has been since our troubles began two years ago," Mr Norton told Reuters as his father Ben, 73, hobbled around his main house helping dozens of workers to load household goods into trucks hired from neighbours. "He has high blood pressure, is hard of hearing and is completely broken, but what we are saying to each other is that we have been through tough times before and we must survive this," he said.