Cape Town, South Africa - A Pretoria High Court ruling on Monday will enable former Zimbabwean farmers to sell Government property in South Africa as compensation for their losses. The farmers - Louis Fick, Mike Campbell and Richard Etheredge – have hailed the court’s decision which will enable them to have four properties attached after they were forced off their farms during the controversial land grabs in Zimbabwe. 'The ruling is of historic significance. For probably the first time in international legal history, a court has ruled that the assets of a country guilty of human rights violations must be sold at public auction,' said Afriforum lawyer, Willie Spies, who represented the farmers.

The legal battle started after the tribunal of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) had ruled in November 2008 that Zimbabwe's land-reform processes had been racist and illegal and that farmers ought to have been compensated for their farms.

The protocol introduced by the tribunal makes provision for the registration and enforcement of the tribunal's orders in the member countries of the SADC.

Shortly after the ruling had been registered, the farmers seized three properties of the Zimbabwean government that were no longer used for diplomatic purposes.

In July last year, the Zimbabwean government instituted a series of court applications to have the seizure of its properties and the registration of the SADC's tribunal reversed.

Spies said in a statement that the door was now open for the sale of Zimbabwe's properties in Cape Town that AfriForum seized last year.

'Arrangements will be made without delay to have the properties sold at public auction,' he added.

Pana 07/06/2011